Mind: A Brief Introduction (John R. Searle) / quote 131 of 138
Knowing what words mean
There are then two sets of questions about the components of the thought. First, how does each element relate to the condition that it determines and second, how does the agent relate to the determination of those conditions? Granted that “Socrates” refers to Socrates and “water” refers to water, how does the agent have to relate to these words in order that he can use them to determine the conditions of satisfaction of the whole thought? The traditional answer, and the answer given by common sense, is that each word sets the condition it does because of its meaning and the agent is able to use the words the way he does because he knows the meaning of each of the words. And knowing the meaning enables him to use the word in such a way as to introduce the corresponding condition into the truth conditions of the entire sentence.