Sarah Sawyer
Biographic Data
| ID | 3973872 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sarah Sawyer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sarah |
| FAMILY NAME | Sawyer |
| SIGNATURE | SAWYER S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Sussex |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5919-3367 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 7 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 5 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 7 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Concept pluralism in conceptual engineering
In this paper, I argue that an adequate meta-semantic framework capable of accommodating the range of projects currently identified as projects in conceptual engineering must be sensitive to the fact that concepts (and hence projects relating to them) fall into distinct kinds. Concepts can vary, I will argue, with respect to their direction of determination, their modal range, and their temporal range. Acknowledging such variations yields a preli…
The nature of content
In their book, Narrow Content, Juhani Yli-Vakkuri and John Hawthorne attempt to argue against the claim that there is a kind of thought content which is both narrow and theoretically significant. However, their failure to distinguish indexical from non-indexical thought renders their arguments ineffective; a large class of the arguments they present are in fact irrelevant to the question of whether thought content is narrow. The unified treatment…
The Role of Concepts in Fixing Language
This is a contribution to the symposium on Herman Cappelen’s book Fixing Language. Cappelen proposes a metasemantic framework—the “Austerity Framework”—within which to understand the general phenomenon of conceptual engineering. The proposed framework is austere in the sense that it makes no reference to concepts. Conceptual engineering is then given a “worldly” construal according to which conceptual engineering is a process that operates on the…
Truth and objectivity in conceptual engineering
Conceptual engineering is to be explained by appeal to the externalist distinction between concepts and conceptions. If concepts are determined by non-conceptual relations to objective properties rather than by associated conceptions (whether individual or communal), then topic preservation through semantic change will be possible. The requisite level of objectivity is guaranteed by the possibility of collective error and does not depend on a str…
Subjective Externalism
In this article I argue for a novel theory of representational content, which I call ‘subjective externalism’. The view combines an internal, subjective constraint on the attribution of thought content which traditionally underpins internalist theories of thought, and an external, objective constraint on the attribution of thought content which traditionally underpins externalist theories of thought. While internalism and externalism are mutually…
The Epistemological Argument for Content Externalism
Philosophical PerspectivesVolume 19, Issue 1 p. 257-280 The Epistemological Argument for Content Externalism* Brad Majors, Brad Majors University of Wisconsin-MadisonSearch for more papers by this authorSarah Sawyer, Sarah Sawyer University of Nebraska-LincolnSearch for more papers by this author Brad Majors, Brad Majors University of Wisconsin-MadisonSearch for more papers by this authorSarah Sawyer, Sarah Sawyer University of Nebraska-LincolnSe…
Conceptual Errors and Social Externalism
Åsa Maria Wikforss has proposed a response to Burge's thought-experiments in favour of social externalism, one which allows the individualist to maintain that narrow content is truth–conditional without being idiosyncratic. The narrow aim of this paper is to show that Wikforss’ argument against social externalism fails, and hence that the individualist position she endorses is inadequate. The more general aim is to attain clarity on the social ex…
The Epistemological Argument for Content Externalism
Philosophical PerspectivesVolume 19, Issue 1 p. 257-280 The Epistemological Argument for Content Externalism* Brad Majors, Brad Majors University of Wisconsin-MadisonSearch for more papers by this authorSarah Sawyer, Sarah Sawyer University of Nebraska-LincolnSearch for more papers by this author Brad Majors, Brad Majors University of Wisconsin-MadisonSearch for more papers by this authorSarah Sawyer, Sarah Sawyer University of Nebraska-LincolnSe…
Conceptual Errors and Social Externalism
Åsa Maria Wikforss has proposed a response to Burge's thought-experiments in favour of social externalism, one which allows the individualist to maintain that narrow content is truth–conditional without being idiosyncratic. The narrow aim of this paper is to show that Wikforss’ argument against social externalism fails, and hence that the individualist position she endorses is inadequate. The more general aim is to attain clarity on the social ex…
Conceptual Errors and Social Externalism
Åsa Maria Wikforss has proposed a response to Burge's thought-experiments in favour of social externalism, one which allows the individualist to maintain that narrow content is truth–conditional without being idiosyncratic. The narrow aim of this paper is to show that Wikforss’ argument against social externalism fails, and hence that the individualist position she endorses is inadequate. The more general aim is to attain clarity on the social ex…
The Epistemological Argument for Content Externalism
Philosophical PerspectivesVolume 19, Issue 1 p. 257-280 The Epistemological Argument for Content Externalism* Brad Majors, Brad Majors University of Wisconsin-MadisonSearch for more papers by this authorSarah Sawyer, Sarah Sawyer University of Nebraska-LincolnSearch for more papers by this author Brad Majors, Brad Majors University of Wisconsin-MadisonSearch for more papers by this authorSarah Sawyer, Sarah Sawyer University of Nebraska-LincolnSe…
Subjective Externalism
In this article I argue for a novel theory of representational content, which I call ‘subjective externalism’. The view combines an internal, subjective constraint on the attribution of thought content which traditionally underpins internalist theories of thought, and an external, objective constraint on the attribution of thought content which traditionally underpins externalist theories of thought. While internalism and externalism are mutually…
The Role of Concepts in Fixing Language
This is a contribution to the symposium on Herman Cappelen’s book Fixing Language. Cappelen proposes a metasemantic framework—the “Austerity Framework”—within which to understand the general phenomenon of conceptual engineering. The proposed framework is austere in the sense that it makes no reference to concepts. Conceptual engineering is then given a “worldly” construal according to which conceptual engineering is a process that operates on the…
Truth and objectivity in conceptual engineering
Conceptual engineering is to be explained by appeal to the externalist distinction between concepts and conceptions. If concepts are determined by non-conceptual relations to objective properties rather than by associated conceptions (whether individual or communal), then topic preservation through semantic change will be possible. The requisite level of objectivity is guaranteed by the possibility of collective error and does not depend on a str…
The nature of content
In their book, Narrow Content, Juhani Yli-Vakkuri and John Hawthorne attempt to argue against the claim that there is a kind of thought content which is both narrow and theoretically significant. However, their failure to distinguish indexical from non-indexical thought renders their arguments ineffective; a large class of the arguments they present are in fact irrelevant to the question of whether thought content is narrow. The unified treatment…
Concept pluralism in conceptual engineering
In this paper, I argue that an adequate meta-semantic framework capable of accommodating the range of projects currently identified as projects in conceptual engineering must be sensitive to the fact that concepts (and hence projects relating to them) fall into distinct kinds. Concepts can vary, I will argue, with respect to their direction of determination, their modal range, and their temporal range. Acknowledging such variations yields a preli…
Epistemology (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Philosophy and Theoretical Science (6 works) · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics (5 works) · Externalism (4 works) · Law (4 works) · Philosophy and History of Science (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Internalism and externalism (3 works) · Mathematics (3 works)