Umeå Cognitive Science Seminar bjuder in till ett seminarium med Jessica Heine, Umeå Universitet och Auburn University. Seminariet ges på engelska och har den engelska titeln "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.
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