Semantic holism is a theory in the philosophy of language to the effect that a certain part of language, be it a term or a complete sentence, can only be understood through its relations to a (previously understood) larger segment of language. There is substantial controversy, however, as to exactly what the larger segment of language in question consists of. In recent years, the debate surrounding semantic holism, which is one among the many forms of holism that are debated and discussed in contemporary philosophy, has tended to centre around the view that the "whole" in question consists of an entire language.
Read more about Semantic Holism: Background, Problems With Semantic Holism, Semantic Holism and Holism of Mental Content, Semantic Holism and Confirmational Holism, Moderate Holism, Holism and Compositionality, Holism and Externalism, See Also
Famous quotes containing the word semantic:
“Watt’s need of semantic succour was at times so great that he would set to trying names on things, and on himself, almost as a woman hats.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)