Meaning, Kinds of
Meaning, Kinds of
In semiotic (q. v.) several kinds of meaning, i.e. of the function of an expression in language and the content it conveys, are distinguished.
An expression (sentence) has cognitive (or theoretical, assertive) meaning, if it asserts something and hence is either true or false. In this case, it is called a cognitive sentence or (cognitive, genuine) statement; it has usually the form of a declarative sentence. If an expression (a sentence) has cognitive meaning, its truth-value (q. v.) depends in general upon both
the (cognitive, semantical) meaning of the terms occurring, and
some facts referred to by the sentence.
If it does depend on both (a) and (b), the sentence has factual (synthetic, material) meaning and is called a factual (synthetic, material) sentence.
If, however, the truth-value depends upon (a) alone, the sentence has a (merely) logical meaning (or formal meaning, see Formal 1). In this case, if it is true, it is called logically true or analytic (q. v.); if it is false, it is called logically false or contradictory.
An expression has an expressive meaning (or function) in so far as it expresses something of the state of the speaker; this kind of meaning may for instance contain pictorial, emotive, and volitional components (e.g. lyrical poetry, exclamations, commands). An expression may or may not have, in addition to its expressive meaning, a cognitive meaning; if not, it is said to have a merely expressive meaning.
If an expression has a merely expressive meaning but is mistaken as being a cognitive statement, it is sometimes called a pseudo-statement. According to logical positivism (see Scientific Empiricism, IC) many sentences in metaphysics are pseudo-statements (compare Anti-metaphysics, 2).
— R.C.