Semantic Relationism Kit Fine Semantic Relationism The Blackwell/Brown Lectures in Philosophy Series Editor: Ernest Sosa, Brown University The Blackwell/Brown Lectures in Philosophy present compact books distilling cutting-edge research from across the discipline. Based on public lectures presented at Brown University, the books in the series are by established scholars of the highest caliber, presenting their work in a clear and concise format. 1 Semantic Relationism by Kit Fine Semantic Relationism Kit Fine © 2007 by Kit Fine blackwell publishing 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Kit Fine to be identifi ed as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2007 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1 2007 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fine, Kit. Semantic relationism / Kit Fine. p. cm. — (The Blackwell/Brown lectures in philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-0843-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Semantics. 2. Semantics (Philosophy) I. Title. P325.F53 2007 401.43—dc22 2007003774 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Set in 10.5 on 13 pt Sabon by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd, Hong Kong Printed and bound in Singapore by Markono Print Media Pte The publisher’s policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board used have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards. For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website: www.blackwellpublishing.com Contents Preface vii Introduction 1 1. Coordination among Variables 6 A. The Antinomy of the Variable 7 B. The Tarskian Approach 9 C. The Rejection of Semantic Role 12 D. The Instantial Approach 16 E. The Algebraic Approach 18 F. The Relational Approach 21 G. Relational Semantics for First-order Logic 25 2. Coordination within Language 33 A. Frege’s Puzzle 34 B. Rejecting Compositionality 37 C. Semantic Fact 43 D. Closure 45 E. Referentialism Reconsidered 51 F. A Relational Semantics for Names 53 G. Transparency 60 3. Coordination within Thought 66 A. Intentional Coordination 67 B. Strict Co-representation 72 C. The Content of Thought 74 D. The Cognitive Puzzle 78 vi Contents 4. Coordination between Speakers 86 A. Kripke’s Puzzle 87 B. Some Related Puzzles 94 C. A Response 100 D. A Solution 102 E. A Deeper Puzzle 105 F. A Deeper Solution 108 G. The Role of Variables in Belief Reports 115 H. Some Semantical Morals 117 Postscript: Further Work 122 Notes 133 References 141 Index 143 Preface The ideas behind these lectures had their origin in the early 1980s. There was then a great deal of excitement over the “new” theory of direct reference, but many of those who were attracted to the theory were also worried about the challenge posed by Frege’s puzzle. How could they claim, as the theory seemed to require, that the meaning of “Cicero = Tully” was the same as “Cicero = Cicero,” when the one was plainly informative and the other not? I myself faced a similar problem over the role of variables. I had previously attempted to develop a theory of variable or arbitrary objects. According to this theory, a variable should be taken to signify a variable object, something which we might loosely identify with the variable’s meaning or abstract role. However, even though the variables x and y, when considered on their own, should be taken to signify the same variable object, they should not be taken to signify the same variable object when considered together, since otherwise we would lose the relevant distinction between x = y and x = x. It seemed clear to me that the two problems were essentially the same and that there should be a common solution to them both, even though it was not then clear to me what the solution should be. I worried about this issue on and off for the next 15 years until it dawned on me that it could only adequately be solved by making a fundamental break with semantics as it is usually conceived. One must take account of the meaning that expressions have, not only when considered on their own but also when they are considered together; the meaning relation between them is not simply to be regarded as a product of their individual meanings. Once we embrace this liberating thought, we can then see how the usual referential view viii Preface of the meaning of variables and names can be retained and yet the diffi culties over Frege-type puzzles avoided. It was, therefore, opportune when Ernie Sosa asked me to give the fi rst Blackwell/Brown lecture for the Fall of 2002, since this provided me with an opportunity to develop these ideas, which were still in a very inchoate form, and to discuss them with a wonderful group of philosophers. I have since presented the material on a variety of other occasions: as the John Locke Lectures for Trinity Term of 2003; at two seminars in philosophy at NYU during the Spring of 2002 and the Fall of 2004; and in a number of talks within Europe and the US. I am extremely grateful to the participants at these meetings and, in particular, to Joseph Almog, Tony Anderson, George Bealer, Justin Broakes, Ray Buchanan, Tyler Burge, John Campbell, Ruth Chang, Paul Coppock, David Corfi eld, Louis Derosset, Cian Dorr, Michael Dummett, Hartry Field, Paul Hovda, Carrie Jenkins, David Kaplan, Jaegwon Kim, Saul Kripke, Robert May, Friederike Moltmann, Sarah Moss, Angel Pinillos, Nathan Salmon, Marco Santambrogio, Joshua Schecter, Stephen Schiffer, Scott Soames, Seunghyun Song, Ernest Sosa, Bas van Fraassen, Brian Weatherstone, Tim Williamson, and Crispin Wright. I am also grateful to two anonymous referees who provided me with many valuable comments. Even if meaning is not relational, as I have supposed, the present contribution to philosophy certainly is. The present book is loosely based upon the lectures I gave at Brown and I have tried to keep to something like the original lecture format. This has meant that a number of topics have not been pursued, though I have given a brief account of some of the more important of these topics in the fi nal chapter. It has also meant that scholarly allusions have been kept to a minimum. I have, in particu- lar, made no attempt to compare my own work with the loosely related work of Almog (2006), Fiengo and May (2005), Lawlor (2005), and Lieb (1983). This is a “bare-bones” account, simply intended to convey the essential ideas; and I hope later to provide a fuller account that is both broader in its scope and much more thorough in its treatment of particular topics. Introduction Many philosophers and linguists have remarked on the great expres- sive capacity of language – its capacity, on the basis of a fi nite vocabulary and a fi nite stock of syntactic rules, to express an infi ni- tude of different thoughts. But equally remarkable, though rarely remarked, is a capacity in the opposite direction – a capacity not to express different thoughts, but the very same thought from one occa- sion to the next. I say “Cicero is an orator”; I then repeat “Cicero is an orator”; you say “Cicero is an orator”; you then repeat “Cicero is an orator”; and so on. Although we produce a multitude of differ- ent utterances, we all somehow manage to say the same thing. But how? Perhaps the reason this contrasting capacity has gone relatively unremarked is that it is not taken to be remarkable. After all, if I have said something once, then what is the point in saying it again? But such a response could not be more off the mark. Just imagine that for some reason we were not able to say the same thing from one occasion of use to another. Reasoning would then be at a stand still. To take a simple illustration, the validity of modus ponens – the inference from sentences of the form “S” and “if S then T” to the sentence “T” – depends upon the two uses of S and the two uses of T being used to say the same thing. Communication, or the transmis- sion of information, would also be impossible. I may attempt to inform you in the words “Cicero is an orator” that Cicero is an orator. But how can you can pass this information on, or even report what I said, if you are unable to say what I said? And if we allow that it might not be possible to think the same thought from one occasion to the next, then the consequences become even more devastating. Memory, for example, would become impossible since 2 Introduction it depends upon remembering the content of what I had previously remembered or thought. There is another reason the contrasting capacity might have gone unremarked. For it might have been thought to be evident in what it consists. If it is asked what kind of same-saying is involved in infer- ence or communication, then it is simply this: I say one thing on one occasion and I or you say the same thing on another occasion.