more on this theme | more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
It is inconceivable that one should be able to explain the relationship between 'Kilimanjiro' and Kilimanjiro without first explaining the role of the word in sentences; hence there is no chance of explaining reference directly in nonlinguistic terms.
Gist of Idea
To explain the reference of a name, you must explain its sentence-role, so reference can't be defined nonlinguistically
Source
Donald Davidson (Reality without Reference [1977], p.135)
Book Ref
'Reference, Truth and Reality', ed/tr. Platts,Mark [RKP 1980], p.135
A Reaction
I point at the mountain, and a local says 'Kilimanjiro'? There is a 'gavagai'-type problem with that. The prior question might be 'what is it about this word that enables it to have a role in sentences?' Unlike whimpering or belching.