Meaning Revisited, Revisited

Abstract

This article interprets Grice’s “Meaning Revisited” (1982) to argue that the hallmark of non-natural meaning (meaning NN ) is not exhausted by the second-order intention condition that featured centrally in “Meaning” (1957). Instead, the how-possibly story Grice tells about how non-natural meaning evolved from natural meaning foregrounds the centrality of value, evaluation, and rationality. But how does meaning NN implicate these normative notions? Drawing on Don Ross, this article contrasts personality with human selves , where selves are simplified and mutually understandable constructions that help stabilize coordination in iterated, culture-dependent games. Thus, meaningful NN communication doesn’t just convey the contents of one’s mind to another, but is essential to the task of rendering oneself culturally legible and evaluable as a narratively constructed self. The upshot of the article relocates the human/non-human primate boundary: non-human primates may lack meaning NN , not because they lack the capacity to formulate second-order intentions, but because they lack the capacity to self-narrate in terms of culturally specific roles.