Explain the Theories: How Does Language Have Meaning?

Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Phil Essay
Many philosophers have tried to argue out the roles language have played in the evolution of human beings. It is evident that language serves some of the critical functions within the experiences of people from peacekeeping to social interaction. Although, communication exists in the other living species, the depth, and complexity of the language used is second to none in human species. Although the philosophers tend to agree on the role of language in human beings, there is a disagreement on how the meaning of language is perceived. This has proved to be a major problem in language by raising the following questions:
* "How does language have meaning?"
* "What is the relationship between words, symbols, or phrases in language and what they are supposed to refer to?"
* "If the phrases, words, symbols or sentences in language have meaning, how can one know this meaning?"
Many philosophers came up with their theories regarding the meaning of language to provide answers to the above-raised questions. In trying to respond to these issues, I will use two theories that provide insights into the meaning of language – direct reference theory and mediated reference theory.
DIRECT REFERENCE THEORY
The theory is also referred to as referentialism or referential fallacy theory that holds that meanings or symbols of expressions or words lie in their direct things in the real world. This theory was first advocated by John Stuart Mill in the early 1840s when he introduced a difference between what he termed as "connotation" and "denotation." According to Mill connotation is the relationship between a name and its attributes and if it is connotative, it denotes in virtue of having the characteristics denoted by it (Donald, 286). Therefore, denotation is determined by connotation. For example "bird" refers to all birds and "white" to all white things. Mill continued to argue that proper names do not have other meanings beyond the things they relate to. When people ask how language have meaning, this theory will help in providing answers. However, despite the fact that the theory has been helpful in understanding language, it falls apart when its implications become clear based on cultural diversity.
MEDIATED REFERENCE THEORY
This theory opposes Mill's direct reference theory. It was advocated by Gottlob Frege by claiming that words, expressions or symbols refers to something in the world and there is more to their meanings than the objects that they refer to (Donald, 288). To support his theory, Frege provided several examples to demonstrate that expressions do not directly refer to objects in the world but instead they have multiple meanings where each definition might apply to different things. For example, "Tom Sawyer" might either refer to Mark Twain's novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" or the featured character. From Frege's perspective, "Tom Sawyer" can have to meanings, each with its referents. He also explained that two expressions could mean the same thing as in the case of "the morning star" and "the evening star" which both refer to...