Pasi Valtonen
I am currently a Postdoc fellow in Philosophy at Tampere University. During the spring 2019, I was a visiting fellow with LOGOS at University of Barcelona.
I received my PhD in Philosophy from King's College London in 2017. I wrote my thesis on ethnic and racial slurs. My postdoctoral research focusses also on slurs. My work on slurs is divided to two strands: Semantic (inferentialist) approach and non-semantic approach. Still, these strands have in common the claim that the derogation associated with slurs and understanding of slurs are connected. Slurs offend us because we understand them. In my view, the previous views have treated these two aspects surprisingly distinct.
I have also done some work on philosophical logic. I have worked on the interpretations of absurdity sign and also on bilateral systems. Bilateral systems recognise rejection alongside assertion. Unilateral systems recognise only assertion. I also dabble with truth pluralism.
Before King's, I studied at University of Tampere in Finland and my supervisor was Leila Haaparanta. At King's, my supervisors were Mark Textor (primary), Bill Brewer (secondary), Chris Hughes and David Papineau.
AOS: philosophy of language
AOC: logic, ethics, philosophy of race
More research material on https://pasivaltonen.wixsite.com/philosophy
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Address: Tampere, Finland
I received my PhD in Philosophy from King's College London in 2017. I wrote my thesis on ethnic and racial slurs. My postdoctoral research focusses also on slurs. My work on slurs is divided to two strands: Semantic (inferentialist) approach and non-semantic approach. Still, these strands have in common the claim that the derogation associated with slurs and understanding of slurs are connected. Slurs offend us because we understand them. In my view, the previous views have treated these two aspects surprisingly distinct.
I have also done some work on philosophical logic. I have worked on the interpretations of absurdity sign and also on bilateral systems. Bilateral systems recognise rejection alongside assertion. Unilateral systems recognise only assertion. I also dabble with truth pluralism.
Before King's, I studied at University of Tampere in Finland and my supervisor was Leila Haaparanta. At King's, my supervisors were Mark Textor (primary), Bill Brewer (secondary), Chris Hughes and David Papineau.
AOS: philosophy of language
AOC: logic, ethics, philosophy of race
More research material on https://pasivaltonen.wixsite.com/philosophy
--
Address: Tampere, Finland
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Papers by Pasi Valtonen
The neutral counterpart assumption is widely accepted in the study of slurs. It provides a simple and an effective explanation for the meaning of slurs. Slurring terms are coextensional with their neutral counterparts. However, Lauren Ashwell has questioned this assumption. She argues that gendered slurs refer to a subset of their neutral counterparts. Hence, slurs are not coextensional with their counterparts. She goes on to present a view that is not based on the counterpart assumption. Still, her view is a unifying view of slurs as it also applies to ethnic and racial slurs. In this paper, I defend the counterpart assumption with a generic view of slurs. While being a unifying view, it accommodates the subset argument with its eponymous feature that the meaning of slurs involves a generic component.
Michael Dummett has proposed an influential analysis of the meaning of ethnic and racial slurs based on inferential rules. Timothy Williamson, however, finds the analysis problematic. It does not seem to explain how slurs are actually used. Williamson's challenge for the inferentialist account of slurs has not gone unnoticed. In this article, I first discuss the debate between the inferentialists and Williamson. I argue that the inferentialist responses concentrate on the wrong issue and the real issue in Williamson's challenge is left untouched. I go on to specify his challenge and offer a solution to the challenge. The solution rests on the idea that the inferential rules for slurs involve a generic component.
Thesis by Pasi Valtonen
The neutral counterpart assumption is widely accepted in the study of slurs. It provides a simple and an effective explanation for the meaning of slurs. Slurring terms are coextensional with their neutral counterparts. However, Lauren Ashwell has questioned this assumption. She argues that gendered slurs refer to a subset of their neutral counterparts. Hence, slurs are not coextensional with their counterparts. She goes on to present a view that is not based on the counterpart assumption. Still, her view is a unifying view of slurs as it also applies to ethnic and racial slurs. In this paper, I defend the counterpart assumption with a generic view of slurs. While being a unifying view, it accommodates the subset argument with its eponymous feature that the meaning of slurs involves a generic component.
Michael Dummett has proposed an influential analysis of the meaning of ethnic and racial slurs based on inferential rules. Timothy Williamson, however, finds the analysis problematic. It does not seem to explain how slurs are actually used. Williamson's challenge for the inferentialist account of slurs has not gone unnoticed. In this article, I first discuss the debate between the inferentialists and Williamson. I argue that the inferentialist responses concentrate on the wrong issue and the real issue in Williamson's challenge is left untouched. I go on to specify his challenge and offer a solution to the challenge. The solution rests on the idea that the inferential rules for slurs involve a generic component.