November 1, 2021
Philosophy Department Colloquium Nov. 4
At 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, the philosophy department will host a Zoom lecture by Professor Ulf Hlobil of Concordia University, Montreal, "Teleo-Inferentialism." Hlobil will discuss a novel meta-semantic theory he calls Teleo-Inferentialism. Contact Shay Logan at salogan@k-state.edu for Zoom information if you would like to attend.
Abstract: The paper presents teleo-inferentialism, which is a novel meta-semantic theory that combines advantages of teleosemantics and normative inferentialism. Like normative inferentialism, teleo-inferentialism holds that contents are individuated by the norms that govern inferences in which they occur. This allows teleo-inferentialism to account for sophisticated concepts. Like teleosemantics, teleo-inferentialism explains conceptual norms in a naturalistically acceptable way by appealing to the broadly biological well-functioning of our innate capacities. As a test case for teleo-inferentialism, Hlobil discusses how the view handles Kripkenstein-style meaning skepticism.