Teleosemantics

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The Teleosemantik is a theoretical approach in contemporary philosophy of language , philosophy of biology and philosophy of mind . In teleosemantics, the phenomenon of meaning should be explained by its biological function . Well-known representatives of teleosemantics are Ruth Millikan and David Papineau .

Thoughts are characterized by the fact that they have a meaning and can be true or false based on their meaning . Philosophers debate what defines meaningful states and how to explain the occurrence of meaning. Teleosemantics represent certain theses related to these questions that are tied to the concept of biological function.

Explanation of importance

The basic idea of ​​teleosemantics can be formulated in simplified form as follows: A state Z1 represents a state Z2 precisely when its biological function is to indicate the presence of Z2. This idea can first be made clear using examples from the animal kingdom: A state in the nervous system of a frog (Z1) represents the presence of a fly (Z2) if its biological function is to indicate the presence of a fly. Such a theory has the advantage of being able to explain the formation of representations evolutionarily . A condition that indicates the presence of flies offers a frog an obvious selection advantage , so its evolutionary origin is understandable. A state therefore has a specific function because it offers an evolutionary advantage and because of this advantage it has established itself in a population .

In teleosemantics, such arguments are now transferred from the animal kingdom to people and their thoughts. First, it is explained that thoughts get their meaning by being something in the world represent . For example, the thought “There is a dangerous animal” gets its meaning from the fact that it represents a corresponding fact in the world. According to the teleosemantics, the occurrence of corresponding representational states can in turn be explained evolutionarily. People who can represent dangerous situations, for example, have an evolutionary advantage. It is therefore plausible that states have developed whose function is to represent corresponding states in the world.

Teleosemantics tries to explain the emergence of thoughts and thus also meanings in the context of an evolutionary theory. It is a typically naturalistic approach in which meanings are to be reduced to biological processes without meaning content .

In biophilosophy, the teleosemantic approach is used to assign the genes a far-reaching meaning in the expression of characteristics. A biological function is directly assigned to them in order to limit the influence of environmental factors. Semantic information is therefore only information about functional (biological) effects. Likewise, all carriers of development functions represent their effects and are therefore carriers of information.

literature

  • Wolfgang Detel : Teleosemantics. A new look at the mind? In: German magazine for philosophy. 49, 2001, pp. 465-491.
  • Graham Macdonald, David Papineau (Eds.): Teleosemantics. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2006, ISBN 0-19-927027-9 .
  • Ulrich Stegmann: The concept of genetic information. In: Ulrich Krohs, Georg Toepfer (Ed.): Philosophy of Biology. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 3-518-29345-1 .

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