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SUBATOMIC INFERENCES: AN INFERENTIALIST SEMANTICS FOR ATOMICS, PREDICATES, AND NAMES.
- Source :
-
Review of Symbolic Logic . Sep2023, Vol. 16 Issue 3, p672-699. 28p. - Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- Inferentialism is a theory in the philosophy of language which claims that the meanings of expressions are constituted by inferential roles or relations. Instead of a traditional model-theoretic semantics, it naturally lends itself to a proof-theoretic semantics, where meaning is understood in terms of inference rules with a proof system. Most work in proof-theoretic semantics has focused on logical constants, with comparatively little work on the semantics of non-logical vocabulary. Drawing on Robert Brandom's notion of material inference and Greg Restall's bilateralist interpretation of the multiple conclusion sequent calculus, I present a proof-theoretic semantics for atomic sentences and their constituent names and predicates. The resulting system has several interesting features: (1) the rules are harmonious and stable; (2) the rules create a structure analogous to familiar model-theoretic semantics; and (3) the semantics is compositional, in that the rules for atomic sentences are determined by those for their constituent names and predicates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17550203
- Volume :
- 16
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Review of Symbolic Logic
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 170724464
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755020321000320