Colloquium: November 6th
Title: Semantic Determinacy (or: How to Talk About Cats)
Speaker: Dr. Ori Simchen (UBC)
Friday, Nov 6th at 2:30pm in CLE A203
Abstract:
I discuss Quine’s incredible thesis that reference is radically indeterminate and outline several strategies for countering it, including the Lewisian doctrine of reference magnetism. I then develop a more satisfying response. This response builds on a commonly overlooked requirement that semantics places on the formal modeling of sentential truth.