referentialism
Referentialism is a philosophical theory primarily concerned with the meaning of words and sentences. At its core, referentialism holds that the meaning of a linguistic expression is determined by what it refers to in the world. This means that a word or sentence is meaningful because it picks out, or corresponds to, a particular object, concept, or state of affairs.
For example, under a referentialist view, the word "cat" has meaning because it refers to the furry,
This theory has been influential in the philosophy of language and has been developed and debated by