Single Idea 16388

[catalogued under 19. Language / B. Reference / 4. Descriptive Reference / a. Sense and reference]

Full Idea

My view inherits from Frege 'modes of presentation'. Reference is not enough, and sense is needed. …We must make room for non-descriptive modes of presentation, and these are mental files.

Gist of Idea

We need sense as well as reference, but in a non-descriptive form, and mental files do that

Source

François Recanati (Mental Files [2012], 18.1)

Book Reference

Recanati,François: 'Mental Files' [OUP 2012], p.243


A Reaction

[compressed] Recanati aims to avoid the standard Kripkean criticisms of descriptivism, while being able to handle Frege's puzzles. I take Recanati's mental files theory to be the most promising approach.