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Full Idea
The Millian view of direct reference says that the meaning of a name is the object named.
Gist of Idea
Millians say a name just means its object
Source
Sarah Sawyer (Empty Names [2012], 4)
Book Ref
'Routledge Companion to Phil of Language', ed/tr. Russell/Graff Faria [Routledge 2015], p.156
A Reaction
Any theory that says meaning somehow is features of the physical world strikes me as totally misguided. Napoleon is a man, so he can't be part of a sentence. He delegates that job to words (such as 'Napoleon').
| 18935 | Semantic theory should specify when an act of naming is successful [Sawyer] |
| 18934 | Sentences with empty names can be understood, be co-referential, and even be true [Sawyer] |
| 18938 | Frege's compositional account of truth-vaues makes 'Pegasus doesn't exist' neither true nor false [Sawyer] |
| 18945 | Millians say a name just means its object [Sawyer] |
| 18947 | Definites descriptions don't solve the empty names problem, because the properties may not exist [Sawyer] |