2+2=4 has a standard context, namely the natural numbers N...
Agreed. For efficiency in communication we often assume normative contexts. For the statement “2+2=4” it makes sense for us to rely on its implicit context. To make sense of a statement like “Is that octopus true or false?”, we will need to make the context of evaluation explicit.
In my use of the expression “2+2=4” I refer not merely to a function that maps contexts to propositions, but to one specific proposition, which has meaning in and of itself.
I’m not certain I understand this as you mean it, so I’ll respond generally and see how you reply.
The idea that something can have “a meaning in and of itself” is false. This is equivalent to “objective truth”. All meaning is relative to some context.
You can certainly have a conception of “a proposition that has meaning in and of itself”, but that conception exists within the context of your mind, and the proposition with that nature is non-existent.
Agreed. For efficiency in communication we often assume normative contexts. For the statement “2+2=4” it makes sense for us to rely on its implicit context. To make sense of a statement like “Is that octopus true or false?”, we will need to make the context of evaluation explicit.
I’m not certain I understand this as you mean it, so I’ll respond generally and see how you reply.
The idea that something can have “a meaning in and of itself” is false. This is equivalent to “objective truth”. All meaning is relative to some context.
You can certainly have a conception of “a proposition that has meaning in and of itself”, but that conception exists within the context of your mind, and the proposition with that nature is non-existent.
Perhaps you believe in dualism?