Assertion and Conditionals

This book develops in detail the simple idea that assertion is the expression of belief. In it the author puts forward a version of 'probabilistic semantics' which acknowledges that we are not perfectly rational, and which offers a significant advance in generality on theories of meaning couched in terms of truth conditions. It promises to challenge a number of entrenched and widespread views about the relations of language and mind. Part I presents a functionalist account of belief, worked through a modified form of decision theory. In Part II the author generates a theory of meaning in terms of 'assertibility conditions', whereby to know the meaning of an assertion is to know the belief it expresses.

Author: Anthony Appiah
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 08/01/2008
Pages: 280
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.79lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.51w x 0.63d
ISBN: 9780521071291

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