When1: 1983
When2: 1986
Who: David K. Lewis [Lewis, David K.]
What: philosopher/linguist
Where: USA
works\ Philosophical Papers [1983 and 1986]; General Semantics; On the Plurality of Worlds [1986]
Detail: He lived 1941 to ?.
Language and other social conventions developed unconsciously, not by agreement, to coordinate behavior. First, unstructured unrelated signals expressed intention. Later, signals gained structure. Then simple intentions used conventional form. Finally, sentences used these elements. Complex-expression meanings are functions of component meanings.
Epistemology
Roles in causing organism physical behaviors define mental concepts, states, events, and processes {causal theory of mental concepts}.
Effects depend on their causes, so if there are no such causes, there are no such effects {counterfactual dependence}.
Propositions are about possible worlds and cannot be about impossible worlds.
Properties are about possible subjects of propositions, which can be individual or category sets.
Metaphysics
Reality is local physics, which makes everything else. Quantum mechanically possible worlds are actually real {modal realism, Lewis} and are separate in time and space.
Social Sciences>Linguistics>History>Semantics
6-Linguistics-History-Semantics
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Date Modified: 2022.0224