Single Idea 7872

[catalogued under 19. Language / C. Assigning Meanings / 2. Semantics]

Full Idea

The teleosemantic view of perceptual concepts is that the referential value of the concept can be equated with those items which it is the biological function of the concept to track.

Clarification

'Teleo-' refers to purpose

Gist of Idea

Teleosemantics equates meaning with the item the concept is intended to track

Source

David Papineau (Thinking about Consciousness [2002], 4.6)

Book Reference

Papineau,David: 'Thinking about Consciousness' [OUP 2004], p.113


A Reaction

This seems to work quite nicely for 'bird', which is concept which is used to track birds. It might even work for complex entities, or abstract entities, or even negative entities. Imagination must play a role in that last one.