Sémantická teória a jej nesémantické pozadie: prípad hodnotiacich predikátov

• Authors: Marián Zouhar

Title variants

EN

Semantic Theory and its Non-Semantic Background: The Case of Evaluative Predicates

• Languages of publication: SK

Abstracts

EN

It is sometimes claimed that semantic theories can be assessed as correct in isolation, i.e. regardless of their connections with theories that concern other areas. The present paper offers a counter-example to this thesis that concerns predicates of taste (such as “tasty”, “funny”, “scary”), their semantics and application. It is argued that once one adopts a particular analysis of taste properties that reduces them to relational properties capturing the external stimulation and the recipient’s reaction, the most suitable kind of semantic theory should treat predicates of taste as indexical expressions of a sort. It is further shown that the indexical nature of predicates of taste can be preserved by contextualist theories and violated by relativist theories. It follows that once one opts for a certain analysis of taste properties one should adopt a certain kind of semantic theory.

Keywords

EN

predicate of taste; contextualism; ontology; background theory; relativism; semantics

Discipline

• PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Filosofický časopis (Philosophical Journal)
• Year: 2017
• Volume: 65
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 59-75
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Marián Zouhar

• Filosofický časopis, redakce, Filosofický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Jilská 1, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic