Reading Brandom: On Making It Explicit

382 Pages·2010·2.415 MB·English

by  Bernhard Weiss, Jeremy Wanderer

READING BRANDOM
Robert Brandom’s Making It Explicit: Reasoning, Representing and Discursive Commitment
is one of the most significant, talked about and daunting books published in philos-
ophy in recent years. Featuring specially-commissioned chapters by leading inter-
national philosophers with replies by Brandom himself, Reading Brandom clarifies,
critically appraises and furthers understanding of Brandom’s important book.
Divided into four parts – ‘Normative Pragmatics’; ‘The Challenge of Inferentialism’;
‘Inferentialist Semantics’; and ‘Brandom’s Replies’, Reading Brandom covers the
following key aspects of Brandom’s work:
• inferentialism vs. representationalism
• normativity in philosophy of language and mind
• pragmatics and the centrality of asserting
• language entries and exits
• meaning and truth
• semantic deflationism and logical locutions.
Essential reading for students and scholars of philosophy of language and mind,
Reading Brandom is also an excellent companion volume to Reading McDowell: On
Mind and World, also published by Routledge.
Bernhard Weiss is Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Cape
Town, and the author of How to Understand Language (2010); Michael Dummett
(2002); and co-editor of Wittgenstein’s Lasting Significance (2004), also published by
Routledge.
Jeremy Wanderer is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Cape Town,
and the author of Robert Brandom (2008).

READING BRANDOM
On Making It Explicit
Edited by
Bernhard Weiss and
Jeremy Wanderer
This edition published 2010 by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
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© 2010 Bernhard Weiss & Jeremy Wanderer for selection and editorial
matter; individual contributors for their contributions.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reading Brandom : on making it explicit / edited by Bernhard Weiss &
Jeremy Wanderer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
1. Brandom, Robert. Making it explicit. 2. Language and languages–
Philosophy. 3. Semantics (Philosophy) 4. Pragmatics. 5. Representation
(Philosophy) I. Weiss, Bernhard. II. Wanderer, Jeremy.
P107.R39 2010
121'.68–dc22
2009045747
ISBN 0-203-85178-1 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0-415-38036-7 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-415-38037-5 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0-203-85178-1 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-38036-2 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-38037-9 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-85178-4 (ebk)
CONTENTS
Contributors viii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
Part I
Normative Pragmatics 13
1 Thought, Norms, and Discursive Practice 15
ALLAN GIBBARD
2 Language Not Mysterious? 32
ChARLES TAYLOR
3 The Evolution of “Why?” 48
DANIEL DENNETT
4 Normativity of Mind versus Philosophy as Explanation 63
SEBASTIAN RöDL
5 Pragmatism and Inferentialism 81
JOhN MACFARLANE
6 Brandom’s Challenges 96
JEREMY WANDERER
7 Perception, Language, and the First Person 115
MARk LANCE AND REBECCA kUkLA
8 Brandom on Observation 129
JOhN MCDOWELL
CONTENTS
9 Being Subject to the Rule To Do What the Rules Tell You To Do 145
ROWLAND STOUT
Part II
the Challenge of Inferentialism 157
10 Inferentialism and some of its Challenges 159
ROBERT BRANDOM
11 Brandom Beleaguered 181
JERRY FODOR AND ERNIE LEPORE
Part III
Inferentialist Semantics 195
12 Inference, Meaning, and Truth in Brandom, Sellars, and Frege 197
DANIELLE MACBETh
13 Should Semantics be Deflated? 213
MIChAEL DUMMETT
14 Representation or Inference: Must We Choose? Should We? 227
MIChAEL kREMER
15 What is Logic? 247
BERNhARD WEISS
16 Truth and Expressive Completeness 262
kEvIN SChARP
17 Assertibilist Truth and Objective Content: Still Inexplicit? 276
BOB hALE AND CRISPIN WRIGhT
Part IV
Brandom’s responses 295
18 Reply to Allan Gibbard’s “Thought, Norms, and Discursive Practice” 297
19 Reply to Charles Taylor’s “Language Not Mysterious?” 301
20 Reply to Daniel Dennett’s “The Evolution of ‘Why?’” 305
vi
CONTENTS
21 Reply to Sebastian Rödl’s “Brandom’s Theory of the Mind” 309
22 Reply to John MacFarlane’s “Pragmatism and Inferentialism” 313
23 Reply to Jeremy Wanderer’s “Brandom’s Challenges” 315
24 Reply to Mark Lance and Rebecca kukla’s “Perception, Language,
and the First Person” 316
25 Reply to John McDowell’s “Brandom on Observation” 320
26 Reply to Roland Stout’s “Being Subject to the Rule” 327
27 Reply to Jerry Fodor and Ernest Lepore’s “Brandom Beleaguered” 332
28 Reply to Danielle Macbeth’s “Inference, Meaning, and Truth” 338
29 Reply to Michael Dummett’s “Should Semantics be Deflated?” 342
30 Reply to Michael kremer’s “Representation or Inference” 347
31 Reply to Bernhard Weiss’s “What is Logic?” 353
32 Reply to kevin Scharp's “Truth and Expressive Completeness” 357
33 Reply to Bob hale and Crispin Wright’s “Assertibilist Truth
and Objective Content” 360
Index 367
vii
Contributors
Robert Brandom is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, university of Pittsburgh,
usA
Daniel Dennett is university Professor and Austin b. Fletcher Professor of
Philosophy, tufts university, usA
Sir Michael Dummett is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at oxford university, uK
Jerry Fodor is state of new Jersey Professor of Philosophy, rutgers university, usA
Allan Gibbard is richard b. brandt Distinguished university Professor of
Philosophy, university of Michigan, usA
Bob Hale is Professor of Philosophy, university of sheffield, uK
Michael Kremer is Professor of Philosophy, university of Chicago, usA
Rebecca Kukla is Professor of Philosophy and Professor of obstetrics and
Gynecology, university of south Florida, usA
Mark Lance is Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Justice and Peace,
Georgetown university, usA
Ernie Lepore is Associate Director of the rutgers Center for Cognitive science, usA
Danielle Macbeth is t. Wistar brown Professor of Philosophy, Haverford College, usA
John McDowell is university Professor of Philosophy, university of Pittsburgh, usA
John MacFarlane is Associate Professor of Philosophy, university of California,
berkeley, usA
Sebastian Rödl is Professor of Philosophy, universität basel, switzerland
Kevin Scharp is Assistant Professor of Philosophy, ohio state university, usA
Rowland Stout is senior Lecturer in the Philosophy Department, university
College Dublin, ireland
Charles Taylor is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, McGill university, Canada
Jeremy Wanderer is senior Lecturer in the Philosophy Department, university of
Cape town, south Africa
Bernhard Weiss is Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department, university of
Cape town, south Africa
Crispin Wright is Professor of Philosophy, new York university, usA
viii
ACkNOWLEDGEMENTS
This volume has been in preparation for a long time, far longer than anticipated.
We would like to thank all the contributors both for their contributions and for
their continued patience throughout this period. In particular, we are grateful to
Bob Brandom for encouraging the project and for generously providing his set of
responses. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the encouragement of those ‘to
whom we most proximally say “we”’, namely our colleagues at the University of
Cape Town, and to the institution itself for financial support at a key stage.
We are very grateful for the three of the papers previously published in the Wiley-
Blackwell journal Philosophy and Phenomenological Research:
‘Thought, norms, and discursive practice: Commentary on Robert Brandom,
Making It Explicit’, by Allan Gibbard, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research (56/3
(1996), pp. 699–717). ©1996 International Phenomenological Society.
‘Inferentialism and some of its challenges’ by Robert Brandom, Philosophy
and Phenomenological Research (74/3 (2007), pp. 651–676). ©2007 International
Phenomenological Society.
‘Brandom beleaguered’ by Jerry Fodor and Ernest Lepore, Philosophy and
Phenomenological Research (74/3 (2007), pp. 677–691). ©2007 International
Phenomenological Society.
In addition, the paper here by Sebastian Rödl is a modified translation by the
author of a paper that first appeared in German as:
‘Normativität des Geistes versus Philosophie als Erklärung’ by Sebastian Rödl,
Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie 48 (2000), pp. 762–779.
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders. The publishers would
be pleased to hear from any copyright holders not acknowledged here, so that this
acknowledgement page may be amended at the earliest opportunity.
ix