Vagueness, inconsistency, and semantic competence
<p>I defend Cognitive Inconsistentism, a novel explanation of vagueness qua susceptibility to sorites paradoxes. The view is contrasted with the Inconsistency Theories of Michael Dummett and Matti Eklund. I argue that these latter views are committed to unattractive theories of linguistic unde...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2008
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| Summary: | <p>I defend Cognitive Inconsistentism, a novel explanation of vagueness qua susceptibility to sorites paradoxes. The view is contrasted with the Inconsistency Theories of Michael Dummett and Matti Eklund. I argue that these latter views are committed to unattractive theories of linguistic understanding. I propose an alternative Chomskyan, cognitive theory of linguistic understanding. I employ this cognitive framework to argue that speakers mentally represent a similarity constraint on conceptual classification, which is causally and explanatorily implicated in language acquisition and use. This cognitive similarity constraint causally explains our linguistic intuitions with respect to sorites paradoxes.</p> |
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