Abel Chpt 7

1.) How do Mill and Frege disagree with Russell about grammatical sentences and meaning?

Mill and Frege believe that sentence should have the same meaning as the collective meaning of the words, while Russel showed that there can be meaningless sentences made up of meaningful words.

2.) Abel provides 8 distinguishing features of meaning. Please provide your own example for each.

a.) Indication - "Smoke means fire"
b.) Cause - "What does this white flag mean?"
c.) Effect - "This means you will fail the quarter"
d.) Intention - "I meant to post all my blogs on time"
e.) Explanation - "What does 'degeneracy' mean?"
f.) Purpose - "Pacifism is meaningless."
g.) Implication - "If the light turns red, I'm speeding up."
h.) Significance - "Does life have any meaning without death?"

3.) Why does Abel believe that science and metaphysics is involved in the discussion of linguistic meaning?

Abel states that we can talk meaningfully about the world only if we take into account what the world is like.

4.) Aristotle provided 10 categories that defined “the range of applicability of a term.”(p. 65). Please provide your own example for each.

i.) Substance - "Bob Dylan is a human being"
ii.) Quantity - "He is 180cm tall"
iii.) Quality - "He is talented"
iv.) Relation - "He is the father of Jakob Dylan"
v.) Place - "He is in California"
vi.) Time - "He is there always"
vii.) Action - "He is singing"
viii.) Passion - "He is protesting"
ix.) Position - "He is surrounded by his fans"
x.) State - "He is newly shaven."

5.) How does Abel differentiate between Reference and Naming?

Reference is how language affects a word, while naming is the direct application of a word to a thing.

6.) On page 66, Abel explains the historical significance of naming. Can you think of any examples he left out? Is there any contemporary example of which Abel would not be aware?

When the cyclops asks Odysseus what his name is, he replies "I am Nobody" His giving of a false name is what angered the gods.

7.) What is the main function of naming? What doesn’t it do?

Naming serves as a a tag to identify something. A name can not describe something.

8.) What is the difference between sense and reference?

A sense is the mental picture evoked when the name is said. A reference is the description of an otherwise unknown name.

9.) How does Abel differentiate between Connotation and Denotation? What about Intension and Extension?

Connotation is the specific meaning of the word while Denotation is all the things that can be designated with the word. Intension is what one had in mind when the word was said. Extension is all the things that fit the definition of the word.

10.) What does Abel mean when he says: “Though meanings require words, they are not identical to words.” (p. 68)?

Words can either refer to things or our thoughts on things because they have both sense and reference.

11.) What is the connection between names and descriptions? Do you agree with Abel that we use ‘linguistic symbols to organize experience” (p. 69)?

People have to organize their words in specific ways to convey their exact ideas. Names can be used as description based on the actions of the original owner of the name (e.g. another Stalin)

12.) Why is referential opacity a problem? Be sure to mention his specific examples.

Certain phrases while meaning the same thing can not replace each other logically.
"Mark Twain" is the pen name of Samuel Clemens.
"Mark Twain" is the pen name of Mark Twain.

13.) What is the problem of creating a “subsistent entity”? (p. 70)

It does not actually exist, but because it can be referenced it is in a way real.

14.) How does Russell differentiate between “descriptive phrases and names” (p.70)?

one has reference but no sense, the other has sense, but no reference.

15.) What is the connection between language and Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description?

One must be acquainted with the subtleties of a language (slang) and they can not be taught but the language over all can be described to another person in the form of classes and lessons.

16.) What is a word? What is an icon? What is an index?

A word is an organized set of letters standing for an idea, an icon is something that is meant to look like something else (photos). and index is a reference to what's to come (smoke to fire)

17.) Why is it important for philosophers to “clarify thought by clarifying language”? Why are Scientists offenders” (p. 72)?

A philosophers goal is to use language and its variant forms to describe the world, while a scientist ignores language and uses numbers which are universal to everyone. Scientists use words with only reference and no actual sense.

18.) What does Abel mean when he says “Just as meanings are not the same things as words, so meanings are not the same things as operations or methods or uses” (p. 73)?

Both meaning and words need each other yet are completely independent of one another.