Meaning and Representation

This prestigious collection of papers discusses the relationship between meaning and representation. All the papers deal, in various respects, with the question of what constraints apply to a proper theory of meaning, either a theory of linguistic meaning, or a theory dealing directly with thought. Placed side by side, they illustrate the deep differences that exist on the question of how formal representations map to semantic representations.

The contributors, most of whom presented their papers at the 2000 Ratio conference, are Tim Crane, Jerry Fodor, Paul Horwich, John Hyman, Ernie Lepore, Gregory McCulloch and Mark Sainsbury.

–ings and –ers: John Hyman.

Let the Vat–Brains Speak for Themselves: Gregory McCulloch.

Intentional Objects: Tim Crane.

Why Compositionality Won′t Go Away: Reflections on Horwich′s ′Deflationary′ Theory: Jerry Fodor and Ernie Lepore.

Deflating Compositionality: Paul Horwich.

Two Ways to Smoke a Cigarette: R. M. Sainsbury