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Some Consequences of Semantic Externalism City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 1994 Some Consequences of Semantic Externalism Consuelo Preti The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2208 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be fromany type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Com pany 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 9432372 Some consequences of semantic externalism Preti, Consuelo, Ph.D. City University of New York, 1994 Copyright ©1994 by Preti, Consuelo. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. ZeebRd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 I- fr SOME CONSEQUENCES OF SEMANTIC EXTERNALISM by CONSUELO PRETI A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Philosophy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York. 1 9 9 4 copyright 1994 CONSUELO PRETI All Rights reserved This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Philosophy in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. [signature] /VfiRcn /<, Date Chair of \Examining Committee [signature] Date Executive Officer Jerry Fodor Stephen Schiffer William James Earle Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK Abstract SOME CONSEQUENCES OF SEMANTIC EXTERNALISM by Consuelo Preti Adviser: Professor Jerry A. Fodor Semantic externalism is the view that meaning and mental content are determined by relations to the world of objects and properties outside the physical boundaries of the subject of mental states. What you mean by your words - what you're thinking when you're thinking about something - is essentially constituted by the world at large. It has become customary to formulate externalism in terms of so- called twin earth cases - cases where (some kinds of) content do not supervene on inner states, but this formulation can be shown to be too limited to be of any great use in characterizing a theory of mind. A more general formulation of externalism is defended in chapter 1, one that characterizes all content. That externalism has untoward consequences for belief- desire psychology is a familiar point, but, given the predominance of twin earth formulations, the problem of content's explanatory role is often construed as the problem of content's failing to supervene. In chapter 2 we argue that this is a mistake. Externalism in its most general iv formulation has consequences for all content in explanation, not just content that fails to supervene on inner states. If content is externalistically individuated, then content is redundant in causal explanation. In chapter 2 we examine the redundancy problem and consider the options for its solution. Part one of chapter 3 concerns the further - unnoticed - consequence of externalism that requires a reconsideration of Davidson's charge that Fregean semantic theories fail the test of 'semantic innocence.' If meaning is partly determined by reference, then what an expression refers to in an opaque context, is, ultimately, its reference. Part two of chapter 3 concerns the consequences of externalism for analytic truth. If meaning is partly determined by reference, a question arises as to what becomes of the classical philosophical distinction between analytic and synthetic truth; between 'truth in virtue of meaning alone' and 'truth in virtue of meaning and the world.' Chapter 3 concludes with an account of analytic truth from the perspective of semantic externalism. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I was delighted when Jerry Fodor agreed to supervise this dissertation, particularly since his ideological reservations were fairly severe. It is a testament to his integrity - and to his good-naturedness - that he was able to reconsider his opposition to various points at various stages as a result of my arguments. He was extremely generous with his time, and readily spent hours arguing with me - in person, by phone, on e-mail, in pages of point-by- point commentary. Jerry Fodor is a man who is deeply pained by philosophical positions that don't make sense to him: by forcing me to make mine make sense to him he taught me more about doing philosophy than he suspects. He was a fierce opponent and he is a good friend, and I am very grateful to him. I would also like to thank Stephen Schiffer for the many hours we spent discussing these issues. It goes without saying that coping with his always spirited and sometimes telling criticisms helped to give this work the shape that it has. I was greatly influenced by the many agreeable discussions I had with the following people, whose vi encouragement was plentiful: Akeel Bilgrami, Malcolm Budd, Graeme Forbes, Mark Johnston, Brian McLaughlin, Gary Ostertag, and Galen Strawson. I am very grateful to Bill Earle for his kindliness, generosity, steadfastness, humor, and cleverness. Without him and his support things might have turned out quite differently. His friendship has meant a great deal to me. My greatest debt is to Colin McGinn. The clarity, meticulousness, and faultlessness that characterize his philosophical ability has taught me more about doing philosophy than anything else. No one who has come under his influence likes to dwell on the kinds of errors, confusions and misjudgments they would have committed - and would have gone on committing - were it not for him. Certainly without his support it is doubtful this work would have turned out quite the way it has. Colin McGinn is a philosopher who is unafraid to recognize and encourage the work of others; for this and for many other things I am very grateful to him. vii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................... vi CHAPTER 1. EXTERNALISM: FORMULATING A THEORY OF MIND .... 1 1. Introduction ............................... 1 2. Meaning, Reference, and Externalism .... 4 3. Supervenience and Externalism: A Reductio ......................... 10 4. Externalism and Twin Earth ................ 11 5. The Limited Applicability of Twin Earth Cases ................... 18 6. Internal Properties ....................... 23 7. Supervenience ............................. 26 8. Strong and Weak Externalism................ 35 9. Weak Externalism: Presuppositions.......... 38 10. Weak Externalism and Exportation.......... 42 11. Weak Externalism: Formulation ............ 48 12. Weak Externalism and Propositional Constituency........ 60 13. Externalism and Abstracta ................ 65 14. Conclusion................................. 69 NOTES TO CHAPTER 1 .................................... 71 2. EXTERNALISM AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATION ..................... 84 1. Introduction: Causation and Explanation . 84 2. The role of laws in scientific explanation. 87 3. Mental Causation ........................... 90 viii 4. Belief-Desire Psychology .................. 92 5. The Case of Factives: An Analogy............ 94 6. Externalism and the role of content in explanation ....................... 96 7. Non-Supervenience, Extrinsicness, and Redundancy.......... 98 8. Non-Supervenience, Extrinsicness, and Redundancy: Entailment Relations . 114 9. The Redundancy Problem: Distinctions .... 116 a. Syntactic properties vs. semantic properties in explanation. ................. 116 b. Redundancy and the special sciences................. 120 10. Resolving the Problem of Content's Explanatory Role: The Options................................ 129 a. The consistency of explanatory relevance and externalism............ 132 b. Syntax.................................. 136 c. Narrow Content..........................138 d. Non-Causal Criteria of Individuation..................... 143 e. Teleology.............................. 151 f. Rationalization vs. Causation: Radical and Moderate Views........... 157 11. Conclusion...................................... 171 NOTES TO CHAPTER 2 .......................................
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