Research Group
in Analytic Philosophy

Reference, concepts and communication

27 February 2019  |  15:00  |  Unusual venue: Room 401, 4rth Floor (UB, Barcelona)

Abstract

Suppose I assert that Merkel is 64 years old. Is it enough for succesful communication that I get my audience to entertain the right singular proposition regarding Merkel? If not: would it be enough to get my audience to entertain the right Fregean thought, that includes a certain particular way of thinking about Merkel? In this talk we will discuss these (and other related) questions. Josep will present a certain principle (his "Coordination Requirement") that attempts to account for a number of puzzling (and some not so puzzling) cases where there is lack of succesful communication. Matheus will argue that there are different reasons to abandon this principle, and favor an alternative, stronger principle (the "Knowledge of Co-Reference Requirement"). We hope that by discussing the conditions for succesful communication we can also shed some light on the nature of meaning(s).