Perry, Wittgenstein's Builders and Metasemantics
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2009
Source
Pragmatics & Cognition
Volume
17
Issue
2
First Page
203
Last Page
221
URL with Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/p&c.17.2.01sta
Abstract
The paper discusses in detail John Perry’s important article “Davidson’s Sentences and Wittgenstein’s Builders”. Perry argues, on the basis of Wittgenstein’s famous block/slab language, that words make direct metasemantic contact with the world. The present paper urges that, while Perry’s conclusions are correct and important, the arguments provided for them, in his 1994 article, ignore essential features of genuine words in natural language. A more empirically-oriented alternative tactic for supporting the same philosophical conclusions is then provided, and its advantages and disadvantages are weighed.
