This work investigates the fundamental mechanism by which linguistic symbols, gestures, and mental representations acquire meaning and reference to the external world. Paul Horwich, a prominent philosopher of language, builds upon the Wittgensteinian framework that defines meaning through use. By synthesizing a series of previously published essays into a cohesive argument, he articulates a deflationary theory of meaning that challenges traditional representationalist accounts of language.

Philosophers and students of linguistics frequently cite this text as a key contribution to the deflationary tradition in semantics. Readers often note the technical density of the prose, which requires a foundational understanding of analytic philosophy to fully grasp the author's arguments.