Able chapter 7

1. How do Mill and Frege disagree with Russell about grammatical sentences and meaning?

Russell disagrees with Mill and Frege because Mill and Frege believe that meanings of sentences should only depend on what the sentence actually says, or the meaning of words that actually make it up. Russell disagrees with this by showing that there may be grammatical sentences, which can be rendered as meaningful even though they may not appear to have meaning.

2. Abel provides 8 distinguishing features of meaning.  Please provide your own example for each.

1.      Indication- a red light means to stop

2.      Cause- what happens if I eat your apple?

3.      Effect- then I will take your lunch.

4.      Intention- I meant to take your sandwich

5.      Explanation- You shouldn’t do that because it makes me mad

6.      Purpose- I put water on the plants to keep them alive

7.      Implication- If the plants get water then they will live

8.      Significance- Is it important to do my TOK homework?  (of course it is!)

3. Why does Abel believe that science and metaphysics is involved in the discussion of linguistic meaning?

He believes that in order to be able to give meaning to something you must first be able to understand the world around you and whether what you are saying is actually logical or not.

4. Aristotle provided 10 categories that defined “the range of applicability of a term.”(p. 65).  Please provide your own example for each.

1.      Substance-Steph is a girl

2.      Quantity- She is 16 years old

3.      Quality- She is funny

4.      Relation- She is a Sturgis student

5.      Place- She is at my house

6.      Time- She is there at night time

7.      Action –She is typing

8.      Passion- She is trying to get her homework done

9.      Situation or position- She is sitting on a couch

10.  State or condition – She is very tired

5. How does Abel differentiate between Reference and Naming?

Reference is how the language itself affects the world. Naming is only the direct application of a word to a thing.

6. On page 66, Abel explains the historical significance of naming.  Can you think of any examples he left out?  Is there any contemporary example of which Abel would not be aware?

An historical significance with naming that was left out was during the holocaust how people that were put into concentration camps were not recognized by their name but by a number that was inscribed into their arm. A contemporary example could be how people would not say President Obama’s middle name because it was the same as a terrorist.

7. What is the main function of naming?  What doesn’t it do?

The main function of naming is to be able to have a way to establish what things are being talked about or presented in a conversation, however it can not describe the object, it is just merely a label.

 

8. What is the difference between sense and reference?

Sense is the description of an object, or a better understanding of what an object might be. Reference is simply just the name or the object itself, 

How does Abel differentiate between Connotation and Denotation?  What about Intension and Extension?

Abel differntiates between connotation and denotation by stating that connotation is description of whatever the word means while, denotation is the acutall object itself. For example the connotation of a umbrella is something that keeps you dry in the rain, while the denotation is the actuall object itself. Intension is the definition or "what you have in mind". While the extention is all of those objects in the world.
What does Abel mean when he says: “Though meanings require words, they are not identical to words.” (p. 68)?

Abel is trying to say that words are only a label for meaning itself, and that without words you can not acuratly describe meaning. However meaning has a much stronger purpose then the words themself.

  What is the connection between names and descriptions?  Do you agree with Abel that we use ‘linguistic symbols to organize experience” (p. 69)?

The connection between names and describing is that names can be used to describe something or someone. For example a person can be called Hitler, though thier name is not actually Hitler they are being described as a cruel and ruthless person. I do agree with Abel when he says we use "lingustic symbols to organize experiance." 

Why is referential opacity a problem?  Be sure to mention his specific examples.

Referential opacity is a problem because in certain contexts you can not subsitute one name for another even though they refer to the same thing. 

Ex: (only the first one is true.)

"Samuel Clemens adopted the pen name "Mark Twain" to conceal his idenity."

" Mark Twain adopted the pen name "Mark Twain" to conceal his idenity."

What is the problem of creating a “subsistent entity”? (p. 70)

The problem of creating a subsistent enity is that by refering to some object that you state does not exsist, you actually refer to it, creating somethign of which you are talking about.

Ex: "The Loch Ness Monster does not exsist", by saying this you are refering to somethng, making it exsist in a way.

How does Russell differentiate between “descriptive phrases and names” (p.70)?

Russell differentiates between descriptive phrases and names by identifying which has a denotation and which does not. Also he uses this example to show how proposition can differentiate between the two:

"Scott is the author of Waverley"

1. "At least one person wrote Waverley (i.e there is such a book)"
   
2. "At most one person wrote Waverley (ie. we may indicate someone as being the author)"
3. "There is nobody who both wrote Waverley and is not identical with Scott (ie, Scott is the only one who wrote Waverely)"

What is the connection between language and Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description?

In order to name something you must now what you are naming, you must have some type of acquaintance with the object in question, or else it would not have any purpose. 

What is a word?  What is an icon?  What is an index?

Words are basically symobls that are used to describe and place a name to something. An icon is something that refers to something by looking a little bit like what it is refering to. An index is loosly connected to what it is implying. Ex: Smoke is a sign of fire.

Why is it important for philosophers to “clarify thought by clarifying language”?  Why are Scientists offenders” (p. 72)?

It is important for philosophers to "clarify thought by clarifying language" becuase if worlds are used incorectly or carelessly then nothing but confusion and tangles can arise in the meanings of words. Scientists are also offenders because they use words to label certain phenomenas but have no clear meaning or denotation to them.

What does Abel mean when he says “Just as meanings are not the same things as words, so meanings are not the same things as operations or methods or uses” (p. 73)?

Able means that there is no way to vertify some types of meanings. For example "she secretly loves him" , if this love is secret then there is no possible way for it to be vertified.