De-idealizing objective type externalism

Abstract

Abstract This chapter motivates and develops a de-idealization of objective type externalism. As developed by Sally Haslanger, Objective type externalism accepts that oppression can influence what one thinks a term refers to, but it doesn’t influence what terms in fact refer to. This chapter argues that oppression systematically influences both (i) the meanings, extensions, and contents of social kind terms and (ii) the processes that, according to objective type externalism, determine those meanings, extensions, and contents. That is, this chapter argues that Haslanger’s account of the theory idealizes away from the systemic influences of oppression, and thus it is systematically inaccurate. The chapter then outlines a de-idealized version of the theory that appeals to scholarship on oppression to correct for the relevant inaccuracies.