Single Idea 2337

[catalogued under 19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 2. Meaning as Mental]

Full Idea

In 'De Interpretatione' Aristotle laid out an enduring theory of reference and meaning, in which we understand a word or any other sign by associating that word with a concept. This concept determines what the word refers to.

Gist of Idea

For Aristotle meaning and reference are linked to concepts

Source

report of Aristotle (On Interpretation [c.330 BCE]) by Hilary Putnam - Representation and Reality 2 p.19

Book Reference

Putnam,Hilary: 'Representation and Reality' [MIT 1992], p.19


A Reaction

Sounds right to me, despite all this Wittgensteinian stuff about beetles in boxes. When you meet a new technical term in philosophy, you must struggle to fully grasp the concept it proposes.