Metaphor and other kinds of nonliteral meaning

Jaakko Hintikka

Paul-Gabriel Sandu

pp. 274-310

in: Jaakko Hintikka, Paradigms for language theory and other essays, Berlin, Springer, 1998

Abstract

In studying the semantics of metaphor, it is useful to keep in mind the general problems about lexical meaning. Now there is a curious fact about the different versions of possible-worlds semantics (PWS), such as Montague semantics or David Lewis' "general semantics". Possible-worlds semantics is claimed, with considerable prima facie justification, to offer excellent explications of the general concepts of meaning theory, including lexical meaning. In particular, PWS tells us what kinds of entities the meanings of different types of lexical items and other expressions are. They are functions from possible worlds to extensions. For instance, the meaning of a singular noun phrase is a function from possible worlds to individuals (of the appropriate type) in their domains. The meaning of a one-place predicate is a function from possible worlds to classes of individuals (in the domains of these possible worlds), and so on.

Cited authors

Lewis David