more on this theme | more from this thinker
Full Idea
The essential question is whether reference is the, or at least one, place where there is direct contact between linguistic theory and events, actions, or objects described in nonlinguistic terms.
Gist of Idea
Is reference the key place where language and the world meet?
Source
Donald Davidson (Reality without Reference [1977], p.134)
Book Ref
'Reference, Truth and Reality', ed/tr. Platts,Mark [RKP 1980], p.134
A Reaction
How do you 'describe objects in nonlinguistic terms'? The causal theory of reference (e.g. Idea 4957) is designed to plug language straight into the world via reference. It simplifies things nicely, but I don't quite believe it.
Related Idea
| 6387 | A minimum requirement for a theory of meaning is that it include an account of truth [Davidson] |
| 6388 | Is reference the key place where language and the world meet? [Davidson] |
| 6389 | To explain the reference of a name, you must explain its sentence-role, so reference can't be defined nonlinguistically [Davidson] |
| 6390 | With a holistic approach, we can give up reference in empirical theories of language [Davidson] |
| 6391 | A theory of truth tells us how communication by language is possible [Davidson] |