7.12.3—
Causal and Other Definitions of Semantic Terms

The final two candidates for the relationship between representation and causal covariation do not really fall within the purview of this chapter. One candidate was the view that the usages of terms such as 'mean-

ingful' and 'semantic' should simply be defined in causal terms. The other was the view that the usages of semantic terms as applied to mental representations do not denote semiotic- or mental-semantic properties, and are not to be defined in causal terms, but that they denote properties that can be explained through causal covariations. In either case, the theory offered does not explain the mental-semantic properties of cognitive states in terms of the semiotic-semantic properties of representations. Whether such variations on CTM can provide any solace will be examined in the next two chapters.