Here is a link to the
paper by Henry Jackman Im
commenting on at the Pacific APA next March. Actually, it looks like its an
early version, since I think Im commenting on a symposium paper, which is 5000
words, but the paper posted on the web is only 3000 words.
The paper is a little surprising. The alleged
idea is that temporal externalism, the theory that future decisions about how
words are used can partially determine what the means now. The paper
starts off saying this view can be used to handle some of the problems with
epistemicism. But it turns out, in something of a surprise ending, that it
doesnt help epistemicism in the way youd expect. It isnt that future uses
give us enough usage base to determine contents. It is, rather, that because meaning
is determined by future uses, and because there are norms about how words
should be used, then meaning is partially normative. And one of those norms is
that words should be given determinate extensions, so words have determinate
extensions.
I dont really follow the final argument.
And in any case I dont quite see how it should help epistemicism as opposed to,
say, a properly tidied up version of supervaluationism. (Or even my preferred truer
theory, I hear you ask? Good idea!) In a typical problem of the many case,
where we have a name, say Morgan, with an indeterminate extension, theres no
norm that says we should use Morgan to denote this object rather than this
one. There is a norm that it should be given some extension or other. So
perhaps right now its indeterminate between all the ways of making it precise.
That would be supervaluationism all over again. Obviously Im missing something
though.
Any suggestions would be welcome!
On a completely unrelated topic, the message
boards I put up dont seem to have generated overwhelming interest thus
far. Im hoping that changes a bit.