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Full Idea
Each person uses the first person pronoun to refer to himself, and in such a way that its reference (Bedeutung) is to himself and its intention (Sinn) is his own individual essence.
Gist of Idea
People use 'I' to refer to themselves, with the meaning of their own individual essence
Source
Roderick Chisholm (Person and Object [1976], 1.5)
Book Ref
Chisholm,Roderick: 'Person and Object' [Open Court 1976], p.36
A Reaction
I think this is exactly right, and may be the basis of the way we essentialise in our understanding of the rest of reality. I have a strong notion of what is essential in me and what is not.
| 2965 | For Kant the self is a purely formal idea, not a substance [Kant, by Lockwood] |
| 21368 | The knot of the world is the use of 'I' to refer to both willing and knowing [Schopenhauer] |
| 18289 | Forget the word 'I'; 'I' is performed by the intelligence of your body [Nietzsche] |
| 22419 | 'I' is a subject in 'I am in pain' and an object in 'I am bleeding' [Wittgenstein, by McGinn] |
| 15813 | People use 'I' to refer to themselves, with the meaning of their own individual essence [Chisholm] |
| 6666 | All human languages have an equivalent of the word 'I' [Lowe] |
| 6140 | Maybe the word 'I' can only refer to persons [Merricks] |