Ekstensionalists

Ekstensionalists are philosophers who hold that the meaning of a term is determined by its extension, which is the set of objects to which the term refers. This view contrasts with intensionalists, who believe that the meaning of a term is determined by its intension, or the concept it expresses. Ekstensionalists argue that two terms are synonymous if and only if they have the same extension, meaning they refer to the same set of objects. This position is often associated with the work of Gottlob Frege, who famously argued that the meaning of a concept is its extension. Ekstensionalists typically reject the idea that two terms can have different meanings but the same extension, a position known as Frege's Principle. They also tend to reject the idea that two terms can have the same meaning but different extensions, a position known as Leibniz's Law. Ekstensionalists have been influential in the development of modern logic and the philosophy of language. However, their views have also been criticized, particularly for their apparent commitment to a form of conceptual relativism.