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Full Idea
It will explain a speaker's actions far better if we interpret him as he intended to be interpreted, than if we suppose he means and thinks what someone else might mean and think who used the same words 'correctly'.
Gist of Idea
It is hard to interpret a speaker's actions if we take a broad view of the content
Source
Donald Davidson (Epistemology Externalized [1990], p.199)
Book Ref
Davidson,Donald: 'Subjective, Intersubjective, Objective' [OUP 2001], p.199
A Reaction
This comes down to the fact that our actions have to be motivated by internal meanings. If I defer to experts on the essence of gold, I still buy gold according to how I myself understand it. So meaning has two components?
| 8872 | It is widely supposed that externalism cannot be reconciled with first-person authority [Davidson] |
| 8873 | The cause of a usage determines meaning, but why is the microstructure of water relevant? [Davidson] |
| 8874 | It is hard to interpret a speaker's actions if we take a broad view of the content [Davidson] |