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The nesting problem of two‐dimensional semantics
Author(s) -
Xu Zhaoqing
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the philosophical forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.134
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1467-9191
pISSN - 0031-806X
DOI - 10.1111/phil.12287
Subject(s) - modality (human–computer interaction) , semantics (computer science) , nesting (process) , epistemology , criticism , computer science , mathematics , artificial intelligence , philosophy , programming language , political science , law , engineering , mechanical engineering
Two‐dimensional semantics is probably the most significant development in contemporary philosophy of language. Among its various versions, it is Chalmers's epistemic two‐dimensionalism that received most widely discussions and most severe criticisms. Here I consider one such criticism, namely, “the nesting problem,” which concerns the interaction between modality and apriority. I propose a solution to the problem and defend it through comparison with other approaches in the literature, as well as rebut with some potential objections. It turns out that my solution not only handles the interaction between modality and apriority naturally but also avoids many difficulties of other approaches.