'Ilm al-wad' and 20th Century Philosophy of Language
Speaker: Ustadh Ismaeel Ghouse
What is ‘Ilm al-wad’ (semantics) in Arabic? What does semantics mean?
Key Quotes:
“Ideas and concepts exist independent of the words used to refer to them. For example, there’s nothing inherent in the word pen that dictates that it must refer to the objects we call pens.
It’s only through the English language assigning that particular sound, which on its own is just as meaningless as every other sound, that it takes on the ability to refer to the concept of a pen.”
