Acts of Reference: An Essay on the Rational Powers of Proper Names
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Date
2017-07-24
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Johns Hopkins University
Abstract
My topic is the way we entertain and express thoughts about the particular items we know by proper name.
A major goal is to escape teetering between the unsatisfying extremes of Millianism and Descriptivism that continue to define and devil the debate.
I recommend a way out of this oscillation by placing proper names within the wider context of intentional acts of utterance. That is, I consider the consequences for this aspect of the theory of meaning and the theory of reference of language use as a form of rational action.
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Keywords
Proper names, semantics