Our use of Descriptive Names and Singular Thoughts

IKEDA, Satsuki

池田, さつき

[ABSTRACT]A descriptive name is a name whose reference is exclusively fixed by a definite description. In using a descriptive name, we have a descriptive thought that contains, as its component, the general concept expressed by the name’s reference-fixing description. However, I believe that in using a descriptive name, we sometimes have a singular thought, or a thought that does not comprise such a general concept but in fact comprises the name’s referent itself. To support my view I will first survey two prominent theories on this issue―Acquaintance Theory and Semantic Instrumentalism. Acquaintance Theory claims that in order to have a singular thought, we must first have an acquaintance relation to the object in question. This means that in using a descriptive name, we can never have a singular thought about its referent. On the other hand, Semantic Instrumentalism maintains that by simply using a descriptive name, we can always have such a singular thought, regardless of whether the very referent exists or not. In my opinion, the former idea is wrong in taking an acquaintance relation itself as a necessary condition for our grasp of singular thoughts, and the latter idea is implausible in that it cannot offer any tenable grouping of singular thoughts. Considering this, I will argue that it is our possession of proper information that is really essential to our grasp of such a thought, and we inevitably rely on our linguistic and social activities to obtain the appropriate kind of information.

https://opac.ll.chiba-u.jp/da/curator/107885/

https://opac.ll.chiba-u.jp/da/curator/107885/ceresIntlSympo-24-P570.pdf

Chiba University. Center for Environmental Remote Sensing

千葉大学環境リモートセンシング研究センター

Presentation

Proceedings of the CEReS international symposium = CEReS国際シンポジウム資料集

24

570

576

2016-11-21

eng

publisher

Proceedings of the symposium on environmental remote sensing