Direct reference theory
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
A direct reference theory, also called referentialism or referential realism, or referential fallacy, is a theory of language that claims that the meaning of a word or expression lies in what it points out in the world. The object denoted by a word is called its referent. Criticisms of this position are often associated with Ludwig Wittgenstein.
In the 19th century, mathematician and philosopher Gottlob Frege argued against it, and contrasted it with mediated reference theory. In 1953, with his Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein argued against referentialism, famously saying that "the meaning of a word is its use." Direct reference theory is a position typically associated with logical positivism and analytical philosophy. Logical positivist philosophers in particular have significantly devoted their efforts in countering positions of the like of Wittgenstein's, and they aim at creating a "perfectly descriptive language" purified from ambiguities and confusions.
See also
- Causal theory of reference
- Contextualism and Context principle
- Descriptivist theory of names
- Frege's Puzzle
- Sense and reference
- The Meaning of Meaning
- Entity realism
