Combining Texts

Ideas for 'External and Internal Relations', 'Intro to 'The Reason's Proper Study'' and 'Philosophy and the Nature of Language'

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4 ideas

19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 5. Meaning as Verification
4564 I can meaningfully speculate that humans may have experiences currently impossible for us [Cooper,DE]
     Full Idea: It is not meaningless for me to postulate the potential for humans to sense in a manner which is at present unimaginable and indescribable. There is no reason to believe me, but I might be right.
     From: David E. Cooper (Philosophy and the Nature of Language [1973], §3.1)
     A reaction: The key counterexample to verificationist theories of meaning is wild speculations, which are clearly meaningful, though frequently far beyond any likely human experience. Logical positivists are allergic to imagination.
4565 The verification principle itself seems neither analytic nor verifiable [Cooper,DE]
     Full Idea: It seems that the positivists must admit that there is at least one statement which is meaningful, but which is neither verifiable nor analytic - namely, the statement of the principle of verification itself.
     From: David E. Cooper (Philosophy and the Nature of Language [1973], §3.1)
     A reaction: Some people think this objection is decisive, but I think any theory must be permitted a few metatheoretic assertions or axioms which are beyond discussion. Ayer thought the VP might be treated as analytic. Everyone has to start somewhere.
19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 6. Meaning as Use
4562 Most people know how to use the word "Amen", but they do not know what it means [Cooper,DE]
     Full Idea: Most people know how to use the word "Amen", but they do not know what it means.
     From: David E. Cooper (Philosophy and the Nature of Language [1973], §2.4)
     A reaction: Personally I find examples like this decisive against the 'use' theory of meaning. Maybe the defence is that the theory works for sentences, and individual words (like passwords) are peripheral.
4563 'How now brown cow?' is used for elocution, but this says nothing about its meaning [Cooper,DE]
     Full Idea: The sentence 'How now brown cow?' has its use in elocutions classes, yet this aspect of its use tells us nothing about its meaning.
     From: David E. Cooper (Philosophy and the Nature of Language [1973], §2.4)
     A reaction: Indeed, and also there are weird sentence of which we can assemble a meaning, but cannot think of any conceivable use ('rats swim in purple marmalade').