Date of Award

5-1-2024

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Philosophy

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Bradley Armour-Garb

Committee Members

P.D. Magnus, Jason D'Cruz

Subject Categories

Philosophy

Abstract

“Bill is such a bulldozer.” How does this metaphor mean what it does? How are we to understand how metaphors work with respect to meaning. In this work, there is an exploration of both of the answers that have already been given to these questions, as well as some reasons to think that those answers are insufficient. Importantly, Kendal Walton has put forward a prop-oriented make-believe account of meaning in metaphor. This account succeeds where others fail, though it is not without its own detractors. Elisabeth Camp and Catherine Wearing both object to Walton’s accounts and their objections require responses. I offer a defense of Walton against Camp and Wearing. In addition, I provide an outline of the theoretical space of moral fictionalism and show how a fictionalism inspired by Walton is stronger than the existing options. I will conclude then that if we are inclined to be moral fictionalists, as we should be so inclined, we ought to be Waltonian Moral Fictionalists.

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