Epistemology Bonus II: Connected To The Spec - Semantic Externalism

17/09/2025 27 min Temporada 1 Episodio 24

Listen "Epistemology Bonus II: Connected To The Spec - Semantic Externalism"

Episode Synopsis

For the last episode of the first series of this podcast, I break down a response to scepticism not covered on the A Level specification: Semantic Externalism, the theory that the meaning of words is at least in part constituted by the connection between us language users and our environment - and explain how according to the semantic externalist, saying 'I am a brain in a vat' is self-refuting and therefore false. Funky examples include talk about ants drawing pictures of churchill in the sand, werewolves, jesus toast, cloud-gazing and hypothetical concussions.