Steve asked:

The Meaning of simple things:

People ask, 'What is the meaning of life?' but can philosophers answer something as simple as,
'What is the meaning of a spoon?'

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Philosophers are not interested in "The Meaning of Life", but they are interested in the meaning of
life,and no less the spoon.

"Spoon" might have a functional meaning: A utensil which has the function of enabling us to take
liquids (and cereal!) from a bowl instead of having to sip, as with a cup. Spoons do have other uses
and you may use your spoon to heat up heroin. However, this can be understood as a secondary
function, and need not negate is socially determined function as an eating utensil.

If the meaning of a spoon is determined by its social function, then what a spoon is is culturally
relative. Imagine that mankind is wiped out in a freak dry-cleaning accident and Martians move in.
They find the spoons and use them to pick worms out of the lawn (the Martians eat with their fingers).
They may, but are unlikely to, use the word "spoon", but it will have a different function and be a
different sort of thing.

On the hand, a spoon could be a class of things made of silver, stainless steel or wood, of a certain
shape. When we use the word "spoon" we refer to the class of things under this description, but what
we mean by it — its sense — is something we use to eat with or serve with or heat up heroin with.
Even if you don't use a spoon in these normal senses, and just use it for worms, you can still use the
common notion of a spoon so long as you refer to the silver thing. Its just that you don't fully
understand what a spoon is for.

Given your interest in this, an excellent summary of theories of meaning is given by A.C. Grayling in
Introduction to Philosophical Logic.

Rachel Browne