The behaviorist theory of meaning is an attempt to explain meaning in terms of the behavior of organisms and their interaction with the environment.
This environment includes other organisms of the same genus, and according to the behaviorist theory, the interaction of organisms of the same genus is the locus of (the place of origin) meaning.
In its original meaning, meaning is created in the individual thoughts, images, etc. of a glorified consciousness, and in the public actions and reactions of the organisms in their environment. The behaviorist theory of meaning has been directed against mentalist theories (to explain meaning in terms of the content or work of reason or consciousness).
One serious problem with this theory is its inability to explain simple situations of understanding that occur in the absence of behavioral mechanisms. One meaning is understood quite clearly by an interpreter, but this does not lead that interpreter to any reaction. It is clear that meaning cannot be fully identified with behavior.
Charles S. Peirce and, to a much greater extent, Ludwig Wittgenstein, authoritatively explained the communicative nature of meaning.
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