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The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Episode 128: Hilary Putnam on Linguistic Meaning

Nov 30, 2015 · 2 hr 3 min · 118.2 MBExplicit
0:00-2:03:03

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On "The Meaning of Meaning" (1975). If meaning is not a matter of having a description in your head, then what is it? Hilary Putnam reformulates Kripke's insight (from #126) in terms of Twin Earths: Earthers with H20 and Twin Earthers with a substance that seems like water but is different have the same mental contents but are referring to different stuff with "water," so that word is speaker-relative in a certain way. With guest Matt Teichman.

End song: "In the Boatyard" by Mark Lint & the Madison Lint Ensemble (2004, finished now).