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Full Idea
The central fact about the category of stuff or matter is that it is profoundly antithetical to reference.
Gist of Idea
The category of stuff does not suit reference
Source
Henry Laycock (Words without Objects [2006], Pref)
Book Ref
Laycock,Henry: 'Words without Objects' [OUP 2006], p.-5
A Reaction
This is taking 'reference' in the strictly singular classical sense, but clearly we refer to water in various ways. Laycock's challenge is very helpful. We have been in the grips of a terrible orthodoxy.
| 12794 | Plurals are semantical but not ontological [Laycock] |
| 17694 | Some non-count nouns can be used for counting, as in 'several wines' or 'fewer cheeses' [Laycock] |
| 17695 | Some apparent non-count words can take plural forms, such as 'snows' or 'waters' [Laycock] |
| 17696 | 'Humility is a virtue' has an abstract noun, but 'water is a liquid' has a generic concrete noun [Laycock] |
| 12791 | It is said that proper reference is our intellectual link with the world [Laycock] |
| 12792 | The category of stuff does not suit reference [Laycock] |
| 12818 | We shouldn't think some water retains its identity when it is mixed with air [Laycock] |
| 12795 | Parts must be of the same very general type as the wholes [Laycock] |
| 12797 | If plural variables have 'some values', then non-count variables have 'some value' [Laycock] |
| 12799 | Descriptions of stuff are neither singular aggregates nor plural collections [Laycock] |