Semantic Naturalismand Normativity
Semantic Naturalismand Normativity

Summary/Abstract: In traditional semantic theory the meaning of a word or operator (logicalconstant) is permeated with normativity. It is held that if one grasps themeaning of a word (or logical constant), one ought to behave in a certainway. This view is labelled as normativism here. Normativists hold thatmeaning is intrinsically and irreducibly normative. The naturalistic approachto semantics, on the other hand, which tries to reconcile the traditionalapproach to meaning with a naturalistic world-view, has to naturalise thenormative character of meaning. Naturalists employ several strategies ofargumentation, two of which I deem to be particularly significant. These twostrategies are exemplified by P. Horwich’s revisionistic and C. Peacocke’sreductionistic approaches. This paper elucidates and critiques the former.My criticism tries to show that Horwich’s theory does not offer a successfulanswer to the normativist challenge.

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