- Two dimensionalism
Two dimensionalism is an explanatory approach in analytic philosophy. The term 'Two-dimensionalism' was first used by
Robert Stalnaker . The characteristic feature of the two-dimensionalist approach is its appeal to two separately contributing accounts of a philosophical problem. On two-dimensional approaches, each contributing account is a dimension of the complete explanation. For example, in the philosophy of language, two-dimensional accounts often include a description-based dimension and a reference-based dimension. This can be illustrated with the assertion (from theTwin Earth thought-experiment) 1. Water is H2O.According to a straightforward two-dimensionalist account, 1 has two meanings. Along one semantic dimension, "water" is interpreted in terms of a description, such as "transparent liquid found in lakes and rivers". This might have been otherwise, for example on some other planet just like ours in every way except the chemical make-up of the transparent liquid found in lakes and rivers. Along the other semantic dimension, H2O is the reference of water (water is a
rigid designator -- see also metaphysics ofpossible worlds ), so water could not have been anything but H2O.In addition to the philosophy of language, two-dimensional approaches have been used in modal logic, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and ethics.
ee also
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Kripke semantics External links
* [http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/philosophie/personen/nimtz/NIMTZ_041005_2DSEMANTICS_LONG.pdf "Two dimensional semantics--the basics" Christian Nimtz]
* [http://www-ihpst.univ-paris1.fr/_sources/Arapinishyperintensionality.pdf "The Case of Hyper-intensionality in Two-Dimensional Modal Semantics:" Alexandra Arapina]
* [http://phil.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/~phidept/papers/kywong/Two-Dimensionalism.pdf "Two-Dimensionalism and Kripkean A Posteriori Necessity" Kai-Yee Wong]
* [http://consc.net/papers/twodim.pdf "Two Dimensional Semantics"] byDavid Chalmers
* [http://consc.net/papers/foundations.pdf "The Foundations of Two Dimensional Semantics"] byDavid Chalmers
* [http://consc.net/papers/2dargument.html "The Two Dimensional Argument against Materialism"] byDavid Chalmers
* [http://people.umass.edu/gmhwww/511/pdf/c10.pdf "Two Dimensional Modal Logic"] by Gary Hardegree
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