David Kaplan

David Kaplan is a prominent philosopher known for his work on language, meaning, and reference. He introduced key ideas about how context influences our understanding of statements, particularly through concepts like "demonstratives" (words like "this" or "that"). Kaplan distinguished between how a term refers to something in different contexts and how meaning can vary based on circumstances. His theories help explain how we understanding statements depending on factors like speaker intent, time, and place, making significant contributions to theories of reference, semantics, and the philosophy of language as a whole.