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Single Idea 9009

[filed under theme 19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 8. Synonymy ]

Full Idea

We can define, it would seem, a strong synonymy relation for single words by them being interchangeable salva veritate.

Clarification

'Salva veritate' means truth-preserving

Gist of Idea

Single words are strongly synonymous if their interchange preserves truth

Source

Willard Quine (Philosophy of Logic [1970], Ch.1)

Book Ref

Quine,Willard: 'Philosophy of Logic' [Prentice-Hall 1970], p.8


A Reaction

This is a first step in Quine's rejection of synonymous sentences. He goes on to raise the problem of renate/cordate. Presumably any two word types can have different connotations, and hence not always be interchangeable - in poetry, for example.


The 8 ideas with the same theme [whether two items can have identical meaning]:

Single words are strongly synonymous if their interchange preserves truth [Quine]
'Renate' and 'cordate' have identical extensions, but are not synonymous [Quine, by Miller,A]
If we give up synonymy, we have to give up significance, meaning and sense [Grice/Strawson]
There is only similarity in meaning, never sameness in meaning [Harman]
Sentences might have the same sense when logically equivalent - or never have the same sense [Kaplan]
Mental states may have the same content but different extensions [Fodor]
Externalist synonymy is there being a correct link to the same external phenomena [Rey]
Could expressions have meaning, without two expressions possibly meaning the same? [Boghossian]