An approach to D. Davidson’s “Radical Interpretation” theory

Abstract

Davidson’s concept of meaning as truth has many advantages in respect of reference and to give an account of how language is used. Its complement is the theory of radical interpretation, and both holism and the principle of charity complete his notions on semantics. These theses and the very idea that meaning depends upon a theory of truth for natural languages that is not independent of desires and beliefs are revolutionary in what semantics is concerned. Davidson’s use of the concept of truth is a consistent way of providing evidence and satisfaction for a sentence, but these concepts are restricted to the semantic ground. Observation of the behavior, holism and the charitable assumption, evidence and satisfaction are factors that must be completed by the acceptance of the propositional content that will give an actual role for this sentence in a dialogue. So, the comprehension level (semantics) requires a further step in the direction of pragmatic conditions that supplies communication with the reasons that produce the acceptance of a speech act, its justification, not just its interpretation. In speech real situations, the semantic devices operate through pragmatic features.

Key words: meaning, semantics, reference, pragmatics.