Being For

Evaluating the Semantic Program of Expressivism

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Mind & Body, Reference & Language, Language Arts
Cover of the book Being For by Mark Schroeder, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mark Schroeder ISBN: 9780191615313
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: May 13, 2010
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Mark Schroeder
ISBN: 9780191615313
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: May 13, 2010
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Expressivism - the sophisticated contemporary incarnation of the noncognitivist research program of Ayer, Stevenson, and Hare - is no longer the province of metaethicists alone. Its comprehensive view about the nature of both normative language and normative thought has also recently been applied to many topics elsewhere in philosophy - including logic, probability, mental and linguistic content, knowledge, epistemic modals, belief, the a priori, and even quantifiers. Yet the semantic commitments of expressivism are still poorly understood and have not been very far developed. As argued within, expressivists have not yet even managed to solve the 'negation problem' - to explain why atomic normative sentences are inconsistent with their negations. As a result, it is far from clear that expressivism even could be true, let alone whether it is. Being For seeks to evaluate the semantic commitments of expressivism, by showing how an expressivist semantics would work, what it can do, and what kind of assumptions would be required, in order for it to do it. Building on a highly general understanding of the basic ideas of expressivism, it argues that expressivists can solve the negation problem - but only in one kind of way. It shows how this insight paves the way for an explanatorily powerful, constructive expressivist semantics, which solves many of what have been taken to be the deepest problems for expressivism. But it also argues that no account with these advantages can be generalized to deal with constructions like tense, modals, or binary quantifiers. Expressivism, the book argues, is coherent and interesting, but false.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Expressivism - the sophisticated contemporary incarnation of the noncognitivist research program of Ayer, Stevenson, and Hare - is no longer the province of metaethicists alone. Its comprehensive view about the nature of both normative language and normative thought has also recently been applied to many topics elsewhere in philosophy - including logic, probability, mental and linguistic content, knowledge, epistemic modals, belief, the a priori, and even quantifiers. Yet the semantic commitments of expressivism are still poorly understood and have not been very far developed. As argued within, expressivists have not yet even managed to solve the 'negation problem' - to explain why atomic normative sentences are inconsistent with their negations. As a result, it is far from clear that expressivism even could be true, let alone whether it is. Being For seeks to evaluate the semantic commitments of expressivism, by showing how an expressivist semantics would work, what it can do, and what kind of assumptions would be required, in order for it to do it. Building on a highly general understanding of the basic ideas of expressivism, it argues that expressivists can solve the negation problem - but only in one kind of way. It shows how this insight paves the way for an explanatorily powerful, constructive expressivist semantics, which solves many of what have been taken to be the deepest problems for expressivism. But it also argues that no account with these advantages can be generalized to deal with constructions like tense, modals, or binary quantifiers. Expressivism, the book argues, is coherent and interesting, but false.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book William Shakespeare: The Complete Works by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book The Physiology of the Novel by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book The Masters of the Revels and Elizabeth I's Court Theatre by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book Principles in Health Economics and Policy by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book Ageing: A Very Short Introduction by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book The Story of Life by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book This Mortal Coil by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book Causality by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book Recognizing States by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book The Roman Retail Revolution by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book Contributory Negligence by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book Revision Notes for the Respiratory Medicine Specialty Certificate Examination by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book The Hidden Histories of War Crimes Trials by Mark Schroeder
Cover of the book Aid on the Edge of Chaos by Mark Schroeder
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy