Single Idea 10432

[catalogued under 19. Language / B. Reference / 3. Direct Reference / b. Causal reference]

Full Idea

A baptism which, perhaps through some radical mistake, is the baptism of nothing, is as good a propagator of a new use as a baptism of an object.

Gist of Idea

A new usage of a name could arise from a mistaken baptism of nothing

Source

Mark Sainsbury (The Essence of Reference [2006], 18.3)

Book Reference

'Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Language', ed/tr. Lepore,E/Smith,B [OUP 2008], p.406


A Reaction

An obvious example might be the Loch Ness Monster. There is something intuitively wrong about saying that physical objects are actually part of linguistic meaning or reference. I am not a meaning!