Metaphor and mercurial content
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Damon Horowitz
Abstract
What is it for an utterance to have truth-conditional content? While Literalists and Contextualists attempt to adjudicate the proper domains of semantics and pragmatics, they do not adequately answer this fundamental question. I propose that both camps’ concern with the determinants of meaning, and in particular with the crucial issue of indeterminacy thereof, might be better addressed by exploring a hermeneutic approach to utterance content, recognizing its inherently interpreter-sensitive character. I focus here on metaphor as an initial testbed for this proposal.
Abstract
What is it for an utterance to have truth-conditional content? While Literalists and Contextualists attempt to adjudicate the proper domains of semantics and pragmatics, they do not adequately answer this fundamental question. I propose that both camps’ concern with the determinants of meaning, and in particular with the crucial issue of indeterminacy thereof, might be better addressed by exploring a hermeneutic approach to utterance content, recognizing its inherently interpreter-sensitive character. I focus here on metaphor as an initial testbed for this proposal.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter i
- Contents v
- Introduction 1
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Part 1: The contextual turn and the case for reference, truth-conditions and meaning
- Open texture and schematicity as arguments for non-referential semantics 13
- Full but not saturated: The myth of mandatory primary pragmatic processes 31
- How to get lost in context: Searle on context, content and literal meaning 51
- Meaning and interpretation 75
- The role of context in semantics: A Relevance Theory perspective 91
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Part 2: The contextual turn and the case for language use
- Boo semantics: Radical nonfactualism and non truth-conditional meaning 117
- Metaphor and mercurial content 141
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Part 3: The contextual turn and the case of analysis
- Context, two-dimensional semantics and conceptual analysis 171
- The use of the Binding Argument in the debate about location 191
- Slices of meaning: Levels of analysis and the unity of understanding 213
- Contributors 227
- Index 229
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter i
- Contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Part 1: The contextual turn and the case for reference, truth-conditions and meaning
- Open texture and schematicity as arguments for non-referential semantics 13
- Full but not saturated: The myth of mandatory primary pragmatic processes 31
- How to get lost in context: Searle on context, content and literal meaning 51
- Meaning and interpretation 75
- The role of context in semantics: A Relevance Theory perspective 91
-
Part 2: The contextual turn and the case for language use
- Boo semantics: Radical nonfactualism and non truth-conditional meaning 117
- Metaphor and mercurial content 141
-
Part 3: The contextual turn and the case of analysis
- Context, two-dimensional semantics and conceptual analysis 171
- The use of the Binding Argument in the debate about location 191
- Slices of meaning: Levels of analysis and the unity of understanding 213
- Contributors 227
- Index 229
