The Umeå Cognitive Science Seminar invites you to a a seminar with Jessica Heine, Umeå University and Auburn University. Heine will speak on the topic of "An Internalist Account of Semantic Understanding".
I propose an account of the requirements for understanding the meaning of sentences expressing contingent propositions. I argue that a minimal threshold of such understanding is required to intentionally use language to describe contingent states of the world. My account is based on the notion that linguistic strings are tools; like intentional actions employing other tools, intentional expression of propositions via linguistic strings requires some grasp of the relevant powers of the relevant tools. I argue that, if I understand S at all, my attitudes toward S must be sufficiently substantive to allow for the possibility of misunderstanding. Furthermore, I must be able to use S’s representational capacities to some degree, such that I might learn something non-trivial about world w by learning whether S is true at w. I use this constraint to construct a scalable notion of semantic understanding, ranging from a precise minimal threshold to a limit of perfect understanding. Finally, combining this account with a conjecture about the variety of propositions intelligent creatures might express generates the conclusion that all semantic understanding must be ultimately grounded in perception.
I am currently the Kempe Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in AI Philosophy at Umeå University. I am also an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Auburn University, on research leave this academic year. I received my PhD in Philosophy from MIT in 2024, with a dissertation on the philosophy of perception.
All interested are welcome to attend this seminar.
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