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From: biling@ucscd.UCSC.EDU (Doug Rosener)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,sci.lang
Subject: Semantics (was: Question on Chinese Room Argument)
Message-ID: <6451@saturn.ucsc.edu>
Date: 24 Feb 89 06:16:00 GMT
References: <Feb.22.15.20.26.1989.931@elbereth.rutgers.edu> <3322@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu>
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Reply-To: biling@ucscd.UCSC.EDU (Doug Rosener)
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In article <3322@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> lee@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Greg Lee)
writes:
>
>A reasonable way to rate the prospects of an analytic approach is to ask
>(and answer) the question:  what has it helped us find out?  Looking at
>the score for the last few years, and sticking to fundamental
>discoveries, I make it syntax: 3, semantics: 0. The discoveries are:
>
>(1) Movement constraints (Haj Ross) -- constituents cannot occur
>    "too far" from where they belong,
>(2) Cross-over (Paul Postal) -- nominals cannot come on the wrong
>    "side" of coreferents,
>(3) One per sent (Charles Fillmore) -- when nominals are classified
>    by role (agent, patient, ...) one finds at most one of each
>    role represented per clause.
>
>(Disclaimer: probably few linguists would agree with my scoring.)
>
>My conclusion is that semantics as currently conceived has not
>gotten us anywhere, and probably never will.
>
>		Greg, lee@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu

I am presently taking a course in Montague Semantics and have had
courses in syntax and phonology.

The Montague material is by far the most impressive I have seen 
(o.k., that might not be saying much).

If you have mastered this material, could you please explain what you
think its shortcoming are?  It seems to capture quite a bit of the
problems of sense and reference (all that worrying about the present
king of france on the net a while back), handles opacity ("I am looking
for a unicorn" doesn't presuppose a unicorn exists but "I am petting a
unicorn" does).

I know there is a whole world of problems left to solve, but what
direction do you see as a better one.

Naively yours,

Doug Rosener