Abstract
I begin with Hobbes’s semantics for there are obvious elements of his theory of meaning which in modern day parlance are clearly semantic, i.e. they treat of the relations between words1 and their referents. The three key terms of this semantics are mark, sign and name; their respective definitions, functions and interrelations provide the basis for any theory of reference, denotation, or meaning ascribed to Hobbes.
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References
This common classification is due to William Alston, The Philosophy of Language (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964), ch. 1.
This new basic interpretation is due to Hungerland and Vick, “Hobbes’s Theory of Signification.” It is based on their contention that De Corpore was mistranslated, and that a new translation leads to a different interpretation. (See Computatio Sive Logica,transl. and comm. by A. Martinich.) See also Craig Walton, “Hobbes and the Reform of Logic,” Hobbes Studies IV (1991), who admits that “thanks to Prof. Martinich’s translation...and the excellent introductory essay by Profs. Hungerland and Vick, the study of Hobbes’s logic and its relation to the larger body of his work has been significantly advanced.” This interpretation is adopted by Nerney, “Homo Notans: Marks, Signs, and Imagination in Hobbes’s Conception of Human Nature,” who elaborates on the priority of signifying over marking. For an interesting rebuttal of this interpretation see MacDonald Ross, “Hobbes’s two theories of meaning.” MacDonald Ross argues with the new translation, and therefore with the new interpretation, from a convincing textual, contextual and historical perspective.
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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Biletzki, A. (1997). Human Voices: Semantics and Beyond. In: Talking Wolves. Synthese Library, vol 262. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8887-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8887-4_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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