Publication Type
Working Paper
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
2-2004
Abstract
In "Reference and Contingency", Gareth Evans maintains that it is possible for an expression both to be a proper name and to have a descriptive sense. Evans calls such names descriptive names. He further claims that if ‘a’ is a name whose reference is fixed by a definite description ‘the φ‘, then ‘a’ will have the same sense as ‘the φ‘. Against Kripke’s objection that names and descriptions are not interchangeable salva veritate within modal contexts, Evans argues that the objection is based upon a false assumption about the connection between contents (thoughts in Frege’s sense) and propositions (sets of possible worlds). On his view, a name whose reference is fixed by a definite description will take on the sense of the description but not its modal properties. One cannot therefore argue from a difference in proposition to a difference in content.
Discipline
Philosophy
Research Areas
Humanities
First Page
1
Last Page
9
Publisher
SMU Social Sciences and Humanities Working Paper Series, 2-2004
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
TAN, Yoo Guan, "Thoughts and Propositions" (2004). Research Collection School of Social Sciences. Paper 22.
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/22
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/22
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.