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Single Idea 7769

[filed under theme 19. Language / C. Assigning Meanings / 9. Indexical Semantics ]

Full Idea

Davidson's response to the problem of how you would state truth conditions for "I am sick now" ...is to relativize its truth to a particular speaker and a time.

Gist of Idea

You can state truth-conditions for "I am sick now" by relativising it to a speaker at a time

Source

report of Donald Davidson (Truth and Meaning [1967]) by William Lycan - Philosophy of Language Ch.9

Book Ref

Lycan,William G.: 'Philosophy of Language' [Routledge 2000], p.142

A Reaction

Lycan is not happy with this, but it seems a reasonable way to treat the truth of any statement containing indexicals. Never mind the 'truth conditions theory of meaning' - just ask whether "I am sick now" is true.

The 15 ideas with the same theme [giving meanings for terms that obviously depend on context]:

19233 Indexicals are unusual words, because they stimulate the hearer to look around [Peirce]
21550 Science reduces indexicals to a minimum, but they can never be eliminated from empirical matters [Russell]
7769 You can state truth-conditions for "I am sick now" by relativising it to a speaker at a time [Davidson, by Lycan]
12151 If we replace 'I' in sentences about me, they are different beliefs and explanations of behaviour [Perry]
18412 Indexicals individuate certain belief states, helping in explanation and prediction [Perry]
22418 I can know indexical truths a priori, unlike their non-indexical paraphrases [McGinn]
6899 The references of indexicals ('there', 'now', 'I') depend on the circumstances of utterance [Mautner]
15605 I take indexicals such as 'this' and 'that' to be linked to some associated demonstration [Fine,K]
22932 We don't just describe a time as 'now' from a private viewpoint, but as a fact about the world [Le Poidevin]
16389 If two people think 'I am tired', they think the same thing, and they think different things [Recanati]
16364 Indexical don't refer; only their tokens do [Recanati]
16363 Indexicals (like mental files) determine their reference relationally, not by satisfaction [Recanati]
18408 Indexicals are just non-constant in meaning, and don't involve any special concepts [Cappelen/Dever]
18414 Fregeans say 'I' differs in reference, so it must also differ in sense [Cappelen/Dever]
18423 All indexicals can be expressed non-indexically [Cappelen/Dever]