Meaning, expression, and thought

Meaning, expression, and thought

by Wayne A. Davis

Part of Cambridge studies in philosophy

2003
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"This philosophical treatise on the foundations of semantics is a systematic effort to clarify, deepen, and defend the classical doctrine that words are conventional signs of mental states, principally thoughts and ideas, and that meaning consists in their expression. This expression theory of meaning is developed by carrying out the Gricean program, explaining what it is for words to have meaning in terms of speaker meaning, and what it is for a speaker to mean something in terms of intention. But Grice's own formulations are rejected, and alternatives are developed. The foundations of the expression theory are explored at length, and the author develops the theory of thought as a fundamental cognitive phenomenon distinct from belief and desire, and argues for the thesis that thoughts have parts, identifying ideas or concepts with parts of thoughts." "This book will appeal to students and professionals interested in the philosophy of language."--BOOK JACKET

Discussion questions for Meaning, expression, and thought

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  1. 1

    How does Wayne A. Davis’s revival of the classical "expression theory"—the idea that words are conventional signs of our internal mental states—shift your own understanding of everyday communication?

  2. 2

    Gricean pragmatics relies heavily on speaker intentions to explain linguistic meaning; in your experience, do you find that what someone intends to communicate is always successfully captured by the words they choose?

  3. 3

    Davis argues that "thought" is a fundamental cognitive phenomenon distinct from belief and desire. How do you mentally separate what you merely believe or want from the actual thoughts you form before expressing them?

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