JMJ Marist Brothers

NOTRE DAME OF MARBEL UNIVERSITY

College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato 9506

Rex Bryann C. Zambra PHSC 103 Seminar on Contemporary Philosophy

AB-PHILO 4
Normativity of Meaning
A Reaction Paper

The philosophy of language is a subfield of philosophy that looks into how

language works, how it relates to thought and the world, and how we communicate and

convey meaning through language. The study of language itself, including its structure,

semantics, and syntax, is one of the central issues in the philosophy of language.

Questions about the relationship between language and reality are at the heart of the

philosophy of language. For instance, do words refer to actual objects in the world, or

are they merely symbols that we use to represent them? How does language relate to

our ideas and thoughts? How can we comprehend a word or sentence's meaning?

Questions about communication, such as how we convey meaning through language

and how we interpret what others say, are also examined in the philosophy of language.

Furthermore, the way of thinking of language analyzes the social and social parts of

language, for example, how language fluctuates across various societies and how

language is utilized to communicate power and personality. The connection between

language and other philosophical topics like epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics is

also a concern for the philosophy of language. For instance, discussions of the

philosophy of language frequently bring up inquiries regarding the nature of truth,

knowledge, and reality. Indeed, the philosophy of language is a broad and intricate
 JMJ Marist Brothers
NOTRE DAME OF MARBEL UNIVERSITY
College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato 9506

discipline that investigates the nature and application of language in all of its guises and

contexts, as well as the ways in which it influences our comprehension of the world

around us.

Meaning involves normative or evaluative aspects in addition to psychological or

descriptive facts. To put it another way, what something means depends not only on

what people think or say about it, but also on what they ought to think or say about it in

light of particular standards or norms. Considering the significance of truth in meaning is

one way to comprehend this. To say that something means X is to say that it is true that

it means X, according to many philosophers. Truth, on the other hand, is a normative

concept that is subject to certain rationality and evidence standards. Therefore, to imply

that something ought to be believed or accepted as true based on those standards or

norms is to say that it means X. Think about the social and linguistic practices that give

words and concepts meaning to understand the normativity of meaning. For instance,

the social and cultural practices that influence how people use and interpret a word like

"justice" also play a role in determining its meaning. What constitutes an appropriate or

correct use of the word is determined by these practices' adherence to rationality,

coherence, and consistency norms.

In general, the normativity of meaning emphasizes the fact that meaning involves

objective standards and norms that are shared and enforced by a community of

language users in addition to subjective or arbitrary associations.

 JMJ Marist Brothers
NOTRE DAME OF MARBEL UNIVERSITY
College of Arts and Sciences
Alunan Ave., City of Koronadal, South Cotabato 9506