Reply to Strawson 1

This chapter presents one strategy for responding to Strawson’s challenge that appeals to the idea that sameness of extension does not track samesaying. If a sentence p contains a context-sensitive term like ‘smart’, then if I say p in one context, and you say p in a different context, and relative to these two contexts ‘smart’ has a (slightly) different extension, it can still be true to say that both you and I said the same thing. If you accept this, then you should also accept that extension doesn’t track sameness of topic. This means that—contra the Strawsonian challenge—it can be true both that the extension is changed, and the topic has remained the same. The chapter shows how this line can be used against various versions of the Strawsonian challenge, compares the author’s view with some alternatives, and considers whether there are any limits to revision.