Bounded Meaning

The Dynamics of Interpretation

Matthew Mandelkern (New York University)

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English

Oxford University Press
25 July 2024

Philosophy of language; Semantics

Bounded Meaninginvestigates the dynamics of interpretation:how and why the interpretation of the building blocks of human language is sensitive, notjust to the context in which an expression is used, but also to the expression's linguisticenvironment. Matthew Mandelkern motivates a range of generalizations about the dynamicsof interpretation involving modals, conditionals, and anaphora, and provides an overview ofthe best extant theory of those patterns, namely, dynamic semantics. After bringing out thestriking motivations and successes of that framework, the discussion turns to criticisms ofdynamic semantics, focusing on its puzzling predictions about the logic of natural language.

In response to these problems, Mandelkern develops a novel framework for explainingdynamic phenomena without dynamic semantics: the bounded theory of meaning. On thebounded theory, dynamic phenomena arise from the interaction of two dimensions ofmeaning. One dimension is a standard truth-conditional layer, which, relative to a context ofuse, associates each sentence with a proposition. The second dimension, the dimension ofbounds, limits the admissible interpretations of an expression, relative to the expression'scontext of use and its local information. Bounds thus play an essential role in coordinatingon the resolution of context-sensitive language, explaining dynamic effects in naturallanguage while avoiding a variety of problematic predictions of dynamic semantics.

By: Matthew Mandelkern (New York University)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780192870049
ISBN 10: 0192870041
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 25 July 2024
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

1: Introduction Part I: Modals and Conditionals 2: The Dynamics of Modality 3: The Dynamics of Conditionals 4: Against Dynamic Semantics 5: Bounded Modals and Conditionals Part II: Conditionals: Reasoning and Probability 6: Reasoning with Conditionals 7: Probabilities of Conditionals Part III: Anaphora 8: The Dynamics of Anaphora 9: Bounded Anaphora 10: Quantification and Subordination Part IV: Concluding 11: Local Contexts 12: Conclusion

Matthew Mandelkern is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at New York University. He received a PhD in Philosophy from MIT. He was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, 2017-2020. He works on the philosophy of language and its intersections with neighbouring fields.