Objective Grounds

Abstract

In Part I, some fundamental issues concerning language use have been introduced. Often, ‘correct language use’ is ambiguous and different notions of correctness must be kept apart. There is semantic correctness, which stands for correct language use based on what particular expressions mean. Factual correctness stands for correct language use based on getting the facts right. Epistemological correctness stands for correct language use based on having a suitable warrant or justification for one’s language use. Starting with Kripkenstein we took semantic correctness to be the central notion of the debate (Kripke, 1982, p. 8). Arguably, accounting for correct language use centrally involves explaining how an indefinite number of new language uses can be based on a finite number of preceding ones. From that proposal, the more general notion of grasping as extrapolating was extracted as the primary explanandum:

(Grasping as Extrapolating) Grasping a rule, a meaning of a word or a concept centrally involves extrapolating a possibly indefinite number of new applications based on a finite number of known cases.