| FA-56763-12 | Research Programs: Fellowships for University Teachers | Stephen F. Finlay | Confusion of Tongues: A Theory of Normative Discourse | 8/1/2012 - 7/31/2013 | $50,400.00 | Stephen | F. | Finlay | | | | University of Southern California | Los Angeles | CA | 90089-0012 | USA | 2011 | Philosophy, General | Fellowships for University Teachers | Research Programs | 50400 | 0 | 50400 | 0 |
My book in progress, Confusion of Tongues, offers an original philosophical theory of the meaning, use, and significance of moral and normative language. Against widespread views in contemporary moral philosophy, I argue that this language can be analyzed in other, "natural" terms. A linguistic approach is employed, looking at the full range of ways in which we use words like "good," "ought," and "reason." This yields a maximally simple and unifying semantics that accommodates all these uses, moral and nonmoral. I argue that many of the central metaethical puzzles that have led to rejection of the possibility of such analyses are a result of the complexity of the pragmatics of normative language, or how it is used in context in pursuit of speaker's ends. These puzzles can be solved by application of a single fundamental pragmatic principle. I propose to use a fellowship to complete the second half of this project. |