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Full Idea
According to the 'instantial' approach to variables, a closed quantified sentence is to be understood on the basis of one of its instances; from an understanding of an instance we understand satisfaction by an arbitrary individual.
Gist of Idea
'Instantial' accounts of variables say we grasp arbitrary instances from their use in quantification
Source
Kit Fine (Semantic Relationism [2007], 1.D)
Book Ref
Fine,Kit: 'Semantic Relationism' [OUP 2007], p.16
A Reaction
Fine comments that this is intuitively plausible, but not very precise, because it depends on 'abstraction' of the individual from the expression.
Related Idea
Idea 12373 Something holds universally when it is proved of an arbitrary and primitive case [Aristotle]