Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Atomism and externalism tend to be allied in accounts of both word meaning and concepts. The paper argues that they should be separated as regards word meanings. There is a clear and significant way of being an atomist that is non-committal about externalism. In the realm of word meaning, this brand of atomism simply separates the relation of a word to a root concept, which can be atomic, from what, if anything, putting that concept to use allows a speaker to talk about. More centrally, arguments from polysemy and copredication pose a severe challenge to externalism but are consistent with the brand of atomism advertised.
Source: Erkenntnis
Author: John Collins
Institutions: Ikerbasque, University of the Basque Country
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,990
Award: G1925222447
OpenAlex ID: W4404364651