Semantic Externalism
Meaning depends on the environment and linguistic community, not solely on what is in the speaker's head.
What it claims
Semantic externalism holds that expressions' meanings and thoughts' contents are not determined solely by a speaker's internal psychological state. Physical surroundings and the division of linguistic labor contribute. It rejects both an introspectively accessible inner meaning sufficient on its own and descriptivism that makes a speaker's descriptions decisive.
Nearby positions
Key thinkers
Hilary Putnam · Tyler Burge · Saul Kripke · Ruth Millikan · Gareth Evans