...This chapter introduces and discusses the contrast between the two general approaches to metasemantics: those of productivism and interpretationism. While the contrast is reasonably intuitively clear (if somewhat difficult to make precise) it has recently come into question in the work of adherents...

...Focusing on a version of metasemantic interpretationism developed by Lewis and his followers—known as “reference magnetism”—this chapter presents a novel argument to the conclusion that interpretationist approaches cannot secure determinacy for singular reference. It is also argued...

...Scientific evidence against cognitivism about emotions is conclusive, but is only convincing if one accepts a naturalist view of mind. Interpretationism is a leading kind of theory of mind, primarily associated with Donald Davidson and Daniel Dennett, which entails cognitivism about emotions...

... of the ideal of rationality in interpretation. We can and do make sense of believers and their beliefs other than on the basis of considerations of rationality. Only absolute irrationality is ruled out by interpretationism. A different rationalist strategy is to question empirical arguments against...

...Interpretation is the process of ascribing propositional attitudes to an individual on the basis of what she says and does. Interpretationism is the view (exemplified in the writings of Donald Davidson and Daniel Dennett) that we can gain an understanding of the nature of the mental by reflecting...

...Interpretationism in the philosophy of mind is often thought to conflict with the idea that beliefs and desires play a genuinely causal role. It is argued that there is in fact no such conflict and that a causal understanding of the mental is essential for realism about mental phenomena and about...

...Explores the relation between interpretationism and causal theories in the philosophy of mind. Interpretationism is the view that we can understand the nature of the propositional attitudes by reflecting on the process of interpretation—the process of ascribing attitudes to a subject on the basis...

... argument davidson’s anti-sceptical argument interpretationism cartesian scepticism kantian scepticism coherence theory of truth bubble scepticism metaphysical scepticism In Chapter 13 , I showed that Cartesian scepticism can be neither articulated nor motivated. It amounts to nothing more than...

...-sensitivity into the definition of group belief. Thus, a functionalist account of group belief seems preferable to either interpretationism or a joint commitment account. Unlike interpretationism, it allows mental states to be causally effective states. Further, unlike the joint commitment account, it avoids...

... consumption or reception of such items. The book aims to articulate a set of considerations that favours metasemantic productivism over metasemantic interpretationism; to reconcile a general productivist metasemantic approach with contemporary truth-conditional semantics; and to apply the approach to more...