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Contrastivism, or the contrast theory of meaning, is an epistemological theory proposed by Jonathan Schaffer that suggests that knowledge attributions have a ternary structure of the form 'S knows that p rather than q'. This is in contrast to the traditional view whereby knowledge attributions have a binary structure of the form 'S knows that p'. Contrastivism was suggested as an alternative to contextualism. Both are semantic theories that try to explain skepticism using semantic methods. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong proposed in a paper titled "A contrastivist manifesto"[1] a variant of contrastivism that, he argues, differs from contextualism, invariantism, and Schaffer’s contrastivism. Ernest Gellner in Words and Things "terms derive their meaning from the fact that there are or could be things which fall under them and that there are others which do not." (Emphasis in original.)[2] Contents 1 The contrast clause 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading The contrast clause[edit] The '...rather than q' part of the knowledge attribution is known as the 'contrast clause'. This is what separates it from traditional binary formulations. Rather than taking the same road as contextualism and saying that the meaning of 'knows' can change with attributor context the contrastivist claims that it is the unspoken contrast clause that changes. This can be used to avoid skeptical problems. See also[edit] Contrast (linguistics) Meaning (linguistic), meaning which is communicated through the use of language. Meaning (non-linguistic) References[edit] ^ "A Contrastivist Manifesto". Social Epistemology. 22: 257–270. doi:10.1080/02691720802546120. ^ Gellner, Ernest. Words and Things. p. 40. Further reading[edit] Blaauw, M., 'Is there Evidence for Contrastivism?', forthcoming in Social Epistemology, 2007. Schaffer, J (2004). "From Contextualism to Contrastivism". Philosophical Studies. 119: 73–103. doi:10.1023/b:phil.0000029351.56460.8c. Schaffer, J., “Contrastive Knowledge,” in Oxford Studies in Epistemology 1, eds. Gendler and Hawthorne (2005), 235-71: Oxford University Press Schaffer, J., “The Contrast-Sensitivity of Knowledge Ascriptions,” Social Epistemology (forthcoming) v t e Philosophy of language Philosophers Plato (Cratylus) Gorgias Confucius Xunzi Aristotle Stoics Pyrrhonists Scholasticism Ibn Rushd Ibn Khaldun Thomas Hobbes Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Johann Herder Ludwig Noiré Wilhelm von Humboldt Fritz Mauthner Paul Ricœur Ferdinand de Saussure Gottlob Frege Franz Boas Paul Tillich Edward Sapir Leonard Bloomfield Zhuangzi Henri Bergson Lev Vygotsky Ludwig Wittgenstein Philosophical Investigations Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus Bertrand Russell Rudolf Carnap Jacques Derrida Of Grammatology Limited Inc Benjamin Lee Whorf Gustav Bergmann J. L. Austin Noam Chomsky Hans-Georg Gadamer Saul Kripke A. J. Ayer G. E. M. Anscombe Jaakko Hintikka Michael Dummett Donald Davidson Roger Gibson Paul Grice Gilbert Ryle P. F. Strawson Willard Van Orman Quine Hilary Putnam David Lewis John Searle Joxe Azurmendi Scott Soames Stephen Yablo John Hawthorne Stephen Neale Paul Watzlawick Theories Causal theory of reference Contrast theory of meaning Contrastivism Conventionalism Cratylism Deconstruction Descriptivist theory of names Direct reference theory Dramatism Expressivism Linguistic determinism Logical atomism Logical positivism Mediated reference theory Nominalism Non-cognitivism Phallogocentrism Quietism Relevance theory Semantic externalism Semantic holism Structuralism Supposition theory Symbiosism Theological noncognitivism Theory of descriptions Verification theory Concepts Ambiguity Linguistic relativity Meaning Language Truth-bearer Proposition Use–mention distinction Concept Categories Set Class Intension Logical form Metalanguage Mental representation Principle of compositionality Property Sign Sense and reference Speech act Symbol Entity Sentence Statement more... Related articles Analytic philosophy Philosophy of information Philosophical logic Linguistics Pragmatics Rhetoric Semantics Formal semantics Semiotics Category Task Force Discussion This article about epistemology is a stub. You can help by expanding it. v t e This linguistics article is a stub. You can help by expandi |