“What is a Theory of Meaning?”
E921632
“What is a Theory of Meaning?” is a seminal philosophical essay by Michael Dummett that explores how theories of meaning underpin our understanding of language, truth, and linguistic competence.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| “What is a Theory of Meaning?” canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T11365945 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: “What is a Theory of Meaning?” Context triple: [Truth and Other Enigmas, hasPart, “What is a Theory of Meaning?”]
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A.
essay "Notes on the Theory of Reference"
"Notes on the Theory of Reference" is a seminal philosophical essay by W.V.O. Quine that challenges traditional notions of meaning and reference within analytic philosophy and logic.
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B.
The Meaning of Meaning
The Meaning of Meaning is a seminal 1923 work in semantics and the philosophy of language by C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards that explores how language, symbols, and thought are related.
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C.
Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning
Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning is a philosophical work by Paul Ricoeur that explores how discourse generates meanings beyond literal expression, contributing significantly to hermeneutic theory.
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D.
On Sense and Reference
On Sense and Reference is a seminal philosophical essay by Gottlob Frege that distinguishes between the sense (meaning) and reference (denotation) of linguistic expressions, profoundly influencing analytic philosophy and the philosophy of language.
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E.
The Varieties of Reference
The Varieties of Reference is a highly influential work of analytic philosophy in which Gareth Evans develops a detailed theory of reference, perception, and singular thought.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: “What is a Theory of Meaning?” Target entity description: “What is a Theory of Meaning?” is a seminal philosophical essay by Michael Dummett that explores how theories of meaning underpin our understanding of language, truth, and linguistic competence.
-
A.
essay "Notes on the Theory of Reference"
"Notes on the Theory of Reference" is a seminal philosophical essay by W.V.O. Quine that challenges traditional notions of meaning and reference within analytic philosophy and logic.
-
B.
The Meaning of Meaning
The Meaning of Meaning is a seminal 1923 work in semantics and the philosophy of language by C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards that explores how language, symbols, and thought are related.
-
C.
Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning
Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning is a philosophical work by Paul Ricoeur that explores how discourse generates meanings beyond literal expression, contributing significantly to hermeneutic theory.
-
D.
On Sense and Reference
On Sense and Reference is a seminal philosophical essay by Gottlob Frege that distinguishes between the sense (meaning) and reference (denotation) of linguistic expressions, profoundly influencing analytic philosophy and the philosophy of language.
-
E.
The Varieties of Reference
The Varieties of Reference is a highly influential work of analytic philosophy in which Gareth Evans develops a detailed theory of reference, perception, and singular thought.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
academic article
ⓘ
philosophical essay ⓘ |
| argues |
that a theory of meaning must explain speakers’ linguistic competence
ⓘ
that knowledge of meaning is manifested in use ⓘ that meaning is explained via conditions for correct use of sentences ⓘ |
| arguesAgainst |
purely behaviorist accounts of meaning
ⓘ
purely verificationist accounts of meaning ⓘ |
| author | Michael Dummett NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| discusses |
how a theory of meaning constrains metaphysics
ⓘ
the explanatory role of semantic theory ⓘ the link between meaning and justification ⓘ the role of truth in a theory of meaning ⓘ |
| field |
linguistics
ⓘ
philosophy ⓘ |
| focusesOn |
conditions for understanding a language
ⓘ
connection between meaning and assertion ⓘ criteria for grasping meaning ⓘ relationship between meaning and use ⓘ role of truth-conditions in meaning ⓘ |
| hasInfluenced |
contemporary philosophy of language
ⓘ
debates on realism and anti-realism ⓘ inferentialist approaches to meaning ⓘ theories of truth-conditional semantics ⓘ theory of understanding ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
Gottlob Frege
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Ludwig Wittgenstein ⓘ analytic philosophy ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| mainTopic |
linguistic competence
ⓘ
philosophy of language ⓘ semantics ⓘ theory of meaning ⓘ truth ⓘ |
| notableFor |
influencing discussions of realism and anti-realism
ⓘ
linking theories of meaning to theories of understanding ⓘ shaping late 20th-century debates on meaning ⓘ |
| partOf | Michael Dummett’s work in philosophy of language ⓘ |
| proposes | that a theory of meaning is primarily a theory of understanding ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
anti-realism in metaphysics
ⓘ
realism in metaphysics ⓘ theories of reference ⓘ theories of understanding ⓘ truth-conditional semantics ⓘ use-theoretic accounts of meaning ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: “What is a Theory of Meaning?” Description of subject: “What is a Theory of Meaning?” is a seminal philosophical essay by Michael Dummett that explores how theories of meaning underpin our understanding of language, truth, and linguistic competence.
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.