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Single Idea 7766

[from 'Philosophy of Language' by William Lycan, in 19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 5. Meaning as Verification ]

Full Idea

How could we know whether a sentence is verifiable unless we already knew what it says?

Gist of Idea

Meaning must be known before we can consider verification

Source

William Lycan (Philosophy of Language [2000], Ch. 8)

Book Reference

Lycan,William G.: 'Philosophy of Language' [Routledge 2000], p.120


A Reaction

This strikes me as a devastating objection to verificationism. Lycan suggests that you can formulate a preliminary meaning, without accepting true meaningfulness. Maybe verification just concerns truth, and not meaning.