Success in referential communication

"This work is an inquiry into one of the most basic themes in the philosophy of language referential uptake, that is, the question of what counts as properly 'understanding' a referring act in communication. The particular line of research which the author pursues goes back to Strawson's work on re-identification, but the immediate influence is that of Gareth Evans. It is argued that traditional and recent proposals fail to account for success in referential communication. A novel account is developed which resembles Evans' hybrid account in combining an external success condition with a Fregean one. Yet in contrast to Evans more emphasis is put on the action-enabling side of communication." "The book will be of interest to philosophers, cognitive scientists, and semanticists."--Jacket.