Departing from Sainsbury

The conference will critically assess Mark Sainsbury’s research program as developed in Departing from Frege (Routledge 2002) and Reference without Referents (Oxford 2005). In these works, Sainsbury defends Davidson’s view that a semantic theory for a language should take the form of a recursive theory of truth for the sentences of that language.  Sainsbury is best known for offering three specific advances. First, he defends semantic theories that make minimal demands on speakers. Because language is a public phenomenon, linguists cannot suppose that any two speakers of a language share many beliefs. Second, Sainsbury applies free logic to explain how a name such as ‘Vulcan’ can be meaningful even though it fails to refer. Third, Sainsbury argues that vagueness is an inevitable part of language and that one cannot fully explain how a vague expression such as ‘bald’ functions without using another vague expression. Although the core of Sainsbury’s research centers on the philosophy of language and linguistics, it has far-reaching consequences for many other fields including metaphysics, epistemology, and psychology.

Registration is free, but required. If you plan to attend, we ask that you register by 22 September with Paco Murcia at [email protected]. Please use subject line "Departing from Sainsbury".