Copyright (C) 2018 Dennis Joe Darland
I’ve just read Erik Stenius’ paper “Beginning with ordinary things”, in Words and Objections, edited by Donald Davidson and Jaakko Hintikka. I think I had not read it before but remembered a discussion of it in a seminar in 1974. Anyway there is a discussion of the need for intensions on pages 39-42. It has been in the back of my mind – independently. Anyway I will present it in what I think is a stronger manner. Take any class of 1 object. There could be a word for any such class. Add any other object to that class – now you have a class with 2 objects. For any such class there can be another word. Add any other object – now you have a class with 3 objects. For any such class there can be another word…..
Any of these classes are equal as far as being extensions. All could be subsets of any larger class containing them. If words only were related to extensions, there would be no way for people to agree on use of words. Any way of going on to new cases is equally consistent with prior uses of the words. Only if there are intensions – corresponding with properties or universals – is language learning and use possible.
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