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Full Idea
On Habermas's view, meanings are not determined by the speaker's relation to the external world, but by his relation to his interlocutors; meaning is essentially intersubjective.
Gist of Idea
Meaning is not fixed by a relation to the external world, but a relation to other speakers
Source
report of Jürgen Habermas (The Theory of Communicative Action [1981]) by James Gordon Finlayson - Habermas Ch.3:38
Book Ref
Finlayson,James G.: 'Habermas' [OUP 2005], p.38
A Reaction
This view is not the same as Grice's, but it is clearly much closer to Grice than to (say) the Frege/Davidson emphasis on truth-conditions. I'm not sure if I would know how to begin arbitrating between the two views!
| 20962 | Habermas seems to make philosophy more democratic [Habermas, by Bowie] |
| 15665 | We can do social philosophy by studying coordinated action through language use [Habermas, by Finlayson] |
| 15670 | The aim of 'post-metaphysical' philosophy is to interpret the sciences [Habermas, by Finlayson] |
| 20573 | Rather than instrumental reason, Habermas emphasises its communicative role [Habermas, by Oksala] |
| 20961 | What is considered a priori changes as language changes [Habermas, by Bowie] |
| 15668 | Meaning is not fixed by a relation to the external world, but a relation to other speakers [Habermas, by Finlayson] |
| 15669 | People endorse equality, universality and inclusiveness, just by their communicative practices [Habermas, by Finlayson] |
| 23416 | Political involvement is needed, to challenge existing practices [Habermas, by Kymlicka] |
| 15667 | To understand a statement is to know what would make it acceptable [Habermas] |
| 15672 | Actions norms are only valid if everyone possibly affected is involved in the discourse [Habermas] |
| 15677 | Moral right is linked to validity and truth, so morality is a matter of knowledge, not an expression of values [Habermas, by Finlayson] |
| 15671 | Move from individual willing of a general law, to willing norms agreed with other people [Habermas] |
| 15666 | To understand language is to know how to use it to reach shared understandings [Habermas] |