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Single Idea 3149

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

Full Idea

Referential Opacity says you cannot preserve truth if you substitute one referring term for another ('Oedipus desires Jocasta', 'Oedipus desires his mother').

Gist of Idea

Referential Opacity says truth is lost when you substitute one referring term ('mother') for another ('Jocasta')

Source

Georges Rey (Contemporary Philosophy of Mind [1997], 2.5.6)

Book Ref

Rey,Georges: 'Contemporary Philosophy of Mind' [Blackwell 1997], p.58


A Reaction

….That is, in the context of expressing a propositional attitude. 'Oedipus desired his mother' was true. This idea requires some ignorance on the part of the person expressing the thought.


The 17 ideas with the same theme [reference language has two components]:

Frege's Puzzle: from different semantics we infer different reference for two names with the same reference [Frege, by Fine,K]
Frege's 'sense' is ambiguous, between the meaning of a designator, and how it fixes reference [Kripke on Frege]
Every descriptive name has a sense, but may not have a reference [Frege]
Frege started as anti-realist, but the sense/reference distinction led him to realism [Frege, by Benardete,JA]
The meaning (reference) of 'evening star' is the same as that of 'morning star', but not the sense [Frege]
In maths, there are phrases with a clear sense, but no actual reference [Frege]
We are driven from sense to reference by our desire for truth [Frege]
Senses can't be subjective, because propositions would be private, and disagreement impossible [Frege]
By eliminating descriptions from primitive notation, Russell seems to reject 'sense' [Russell, by Kripke]
Often reference determines sense, and not (as Frege thought) vice versa [Putnam, by Scruton]
It is generally accepted that sense is defined as the determiner of reference [Katz]
It is claimed that reference doesn't fix sense (Jocasta), and sense doesn't fix reference (Twin Earth) [Fodor]
Referential Opacity says truth is lost when you substitute one referring term ('mother') for another ('Jocasta') [Rey]
Reference needs truth as well as sense [Hale/Wright]
Sense determines reference says same sense/same reference; new reference means new sense [Recanati]
We need sense as well as reference, but in a non-descriptive form, and mental files do that [Recanati]
Sense is a mental file (not its contents); similar files for Cicero and Tully are two senses [Recanati]