Saying Nothing and Thinking Nothing

Keller, John A.; Keller, Lorraine Juliano

doi:10.1093/oso/9780198846222.003.0013

Cited by 2 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A. Keller and L. J. Keller (2021)) are compatible with this view of nonsense. In fact, Cappelen (2013.…”

mentioning

confidence: 62%

“…One such case has recently been discussed in the literature on demonstrative thoughts and various illusions of thought (L. J. Keller and J. A. Keller 2021, O'Brien 2009, Stojnić and LePore 2020.…”

Section: Organon Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A. Keller's (2021) and Recanati's (1997) positions, which attempt to solve the riddle of understanding nonsense by means the language of thought hypothesis, are not satisfactory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Section 5 examines how L. J. Keller and J. A. Keller (2021) interpret the language of thought to make room for understanding nonsense.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Riddle of Understanding Nonsense

Bogucki

2023

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Typically, if I understand a sentence, then it expresses a proposition that I entertain. Nonsensical sentences don't express propositions, but there are contexts in which we talk about understanding nonsensical sentences. For example, we accept various kinds of semantically defective sentences in fiction, philosophy, and everyday life. Furthermore, it is a standard assumption that if a sentence is nonsensical, then it makes no sense to say that it implies anything or is implied by other sentences. Semantically uninterpreted sentences don't have logical characteristics. Hence, the riddle of understanding nonsense arises. We seem to use nonsensical sentences in reasoning, thinking, judging, and drawing conclusions, but they convey no propositions, which are the vehicles of their semantic properties. In this article, I propose the pretence theory of understanding nonsense to explain the riddle of understanding nonsense, and discuss alternative frameworks that are insufficient to solve it.

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“…A. Keller and L. J. Keller (2021)) are compatible with this view of nonsense. In fact, Cappelen (2013.…”

mentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Organon Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A. Keller's (2021) and Recanati's (1997) positions, which attempt to solve the riddle of understanding nonsense by means the language of thought hypothesis, are not satisfactory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Section 5 examines how L. J. Keller and J. A. Keller (2021) interpret the language of thought to make room for understanding nonsense.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Riddle of Understanding Nonsense

Bogucki

2023

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“…If writing was the converse of reading, it would be unclear why the former process is so much less reliable than 32. See Cappelen (2013) and Keller and Keller (2021) for discussion. content.…”

Section: Does Compositionality Entail Complexity?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Compositionality Entail Complexity?

Keller

2023

Philosophers' Imprint

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Propositions are (generally taken to be) the semantic values of declarative sentences in context. There is a long history of thinking that an important reason for taking propositions to be structured stems from the fact that the semantic values of such sentences are (typically) compositionally determined. In this paper, I argue that compositionality does not entail, nor provide good evidence for, the claim that propositions are structured. I go on to argue that there is no additional feature of declarative sentences—for example, that they are true or false—that, in conjunction with compositionality, entails or provides good evidence for the claim that the semantic values of those sentences are complex.

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Saying Nothing and Thinking Nothing

Abstract: This chapter treats empty thoughts and nonsense that appears to make sense. They argue for the existence of what Gareth Evans termed ‘illusions of thought’, and reply to arguments, especially from Herman Cappelen, against their existence, focusing especially on work by Herman Cappelen.

Cited by 2 publications

References 12 publications

The Riddle of Understanding Nonsense

The Riddle of Understanding Nonsense

Does Compositionality Entail Complexity?

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