Structural Isomorphism of Meaning and Synonymy

Abstract

In this paper I am going to deal with thephenomenon of synonymy from the logical point ofview. In Transparent Intensional Logic (TIL), which ismy background theory, the sense of an expression isan algorithmically structured procedure detailing whatoperations to apply to what procedural constituents toarrive at the object (if any) denoted by the expression.Such procedures are rigorously defined as TILconstructions. In this new orthodoxy of structuredmeanings and procedural semantics we encounter theproblem of the granularity of procedure individuation.Though the identity of TIL constructions is rigorouslydefined, they are a bit too fine-grained from theprocedural point of view. In an effort to solve theproblem we introduced the notion of proceduralisomorphism. Any two terms or expressions whoserespective meanings are procedurally isomorphic aredeemed semantically indistinguishable, hencesynonymous and thus substitutable in any context,whether extensional, intensional or hyperintensional.The novel contribution of this paper is a formallyworked-out, philosophically motivated criterion ofhyperintensional individuation, which is defined in termsof a slightly more carefully formulated version of -conversion and -conversion by value, which amountsto a modification of Church’s Alternative (A1).