In the twentieth century, philosophers were either skeptical of propositions altogether, tried to replace them by sets of worlds, or seemed content with Platonist views on which propositions represent or have their truth conditions independently of minds and languages.
In the twenty-first century, things are radically different. In vogue are Naturalist views on which we first explain what it is for us qua mental or linguistic creatures to represent, and then explain on that basis what it is for propositions to represent or have their truth conditions. Peter Hanks is such a Naturalist and his excellent Propositional Content is the culmination of over fifteen years of thinking about how to best develop such a view and what it can do for us.
The book can be divided into two parts followed by a stand-alone final chapter. The first part is made up of chapters 1–4, which criticize other views and...