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This talk focuses on the category of social meaning, which has played a central role in much recent work in the philosophy of language and linguistic theory. In cases of social meaning, agents communicate information about their demographic, affiliative, and ideological characteristics. This talk will develop a foundational account of social meaning that centers on patterns of psychological coordination. Armstrong's point of departure is an underappreciated problem that arises from the fact that not all social information that audience members can infer from speakers’ communicative actions constitute forms of social meaning. Armstrong argues that a coordination-based account of social meaning has the resources to address this problem in ways that rival frameworks do not. Throughout his discussion, he will highlight the evolutionary significance of social meaning for human lifeways in enabling symbolically mediated forms of collective action.

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