Single Idea 9038

[catalogued under 5. Theory of Logic / F. Referring in Logic / 1. Naming / a. Names]

Full Idea

There are two related but distinguishable questions concerning proper names: what the speaker denotes (upon an occasion), and what the name denotes.

Gist of Idea

We must distinguish what the speaker denotes by a name, from what the name denotes

Source

Gareth Evans (The Causal Theory of Names [1973], §I)

Book Reference

Evans,Gareth: 'Collected Papers' [OUP 1985], p.1


A Reaction

I don't think any account of language makes sense without this sort of distinction, as in my favourite example: the password is 'swordfish'. So how does language gets its own meanings, independent of what speakers intend?