Subject: PKF: meaning
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 23:54:35 +0200


On this question of meaning, isn't a meaning of a sentence a function of the
context it appears in? Or saying it in Wittgensteinean terms, a function of
it's usage? (I guess this is close to what Fred said.)
Even the sentence "When it is raining it rains." wouldn't necessarily have
to sound ridiculous if we imagine the following scenario: An old granny is
asking her on-the-edge-of-his-nerves-son what the weather is like. He tells
her that it's raining. Then a minute later she asks again: "Is it still
raining?", and as an answer she gets: "When it is raining it rains!".

Much more interesting examples for this question would be agrammatical
sentences like "Cat dog hungry morning they." However, there are contexts
where such a sentence also would be meaningful (for example, as a magic
spell in some fairytale). But we don't even have to go so far: using this
sentence as an example of a meaningless sentence, as a matter of fact, I
gave it a meaning (as it's played an important role in what I've just said).
Cheers!
     Dunja

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