A Formal Semantics for Wittgenstein’s Builder Language
Brian Rabern, “A Formal Semantics for Wittgenstein’s Builder Language,” Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia 81, no. 4 (2025): 1195–210, https://doi.org/10.17990/RPF/2025_81_4_1195.
Brian Rabern, “A Formal Semantics for Wittgenstein’s Builder Language,” Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia 81, no. 4 (2025): 1195–210, https://doi.org/10.17990/RPF/2025_81_4_1195.
| Item Type | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Author | Brian Rabern |
| Abstract | Wittgenstein’s builder language is commonly taken to motivate a skepticism about systematic semantic theorizing. This paper argues that such skepticism goes too far. I show that the example admits a simple compositional analysis that accommodates demonstratives, gestures, and directive utterances without undermining the emphasis on use that motivates it. The analysis does not compete with Wittgenstein’s philosophical aims, but helps to clarify the scope and limits of the lessons his example supports. |
| Date | 2025 |
| Library Catalog | 401; 401.43; 401.45; 160; 401.41 |
| License | © 2026 by Aletheia - Associação Científica e Cultural |
| Volume | 81 |
| Publisher | Axioma - Publicações da Faculdade de Filosofia |
| Section | Philosophy of Language: New Frontiers in Meaning and Use |
| Pages | 1195-1210 |
| Publication | Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia |
| DOI | 10.17990/RPF/2025_81_4_1195 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Journal Abbr | RPF |
| ISSN | 0870-5283 ; 2183-461X |
| Date Added | 1/31/2026, 7:42:06 PM |
| Modified | 1/31/2026, 9:22:32 PM |
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