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Kadish Workshop in Law, Philosophy, and Political Theory: John MacFarlane, University of California, Berkeley

Friday, September 27, 2024 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Paper Title and Abstract:

Disagreement and Meaning

Philosophers often argue from premises about disagreement to conclusions about meaning. For example, from the fact that a fan of brutalist architecture who calls the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub “beautiful” thereby disagrees with a traditionalist who calls it “not beautiful,” we may infer that the two parties mean the same thing by “beautiful.” For if they did not, then their claims would only have the surface appearance of inconsistency. This form of argument has played a central role in metaethics, aesthetics, and discussions of contextualism in epistemology and philosophy of language, but recently its validity has been challenged (most influentially by David Plunkett and Tim Sundell, “Disagreement and the Semantics of Normative and Evaluative Terms,” Philosophers’ Imprint 13, 2013).  It is argued that the two parties can disagree even while meaning different things by “beautiful” and asserting compatible claims; the locus of disagreement is not what they have asserted, but the competing normative views about how “beautiful” ought to be used they have thereby expressed. This sort of disagreement has been called a “metalinguistic negotiation.” I give reasons for doubting that any interesting cases of disagreement are metalinguistic negotiations in this sense. But I think there is something right about the idea that, in making assertions, we express normative proposals for the use of words.  I sketch an alternative picture that preserves what is plausible in the metalinguistic negotiation account while vindicating the argument from disagreement. 

About John MacFarlane:

(Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh). His primary research interests lie in the philosophy of language, philosophical logic, and related issues in metaphysics and epistemology; he also maintains a secondary interest in ancient philosophy. He is the author of Assessment Sensitivity: Relative Truth and Its Applications (Oxford University Press, 2014), Philosophical Logic: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge, 2021), and numerous articles.

About the Workshop:

A workshop for presenting and discussing work in progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The central aim is to provide an opportunity for students to engage with philosophers, political theorists, and legal scholars working on normative questions. Another aim is to bring together people from different disciplines who have strong normative interests or who speak to issues of potential interest to philosophers and political theorists.  

The theme for the Fall 2024 workshop is “Disagreement.”

This semester the workshop is co-taught by Josh Cohen and Véronique Munoz-Dardé.

Venue

141 Law Building

Organizer

Kadish Center for Morality, Law and Public Affairs
Email:
jrmcbride@law.berkeley.edu
Website:
View Organizer Website

Events are wheelchair accessible. For disability-related accommodations, contact the organizer of the event. Advance notice is kindly requested.

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