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A strictly Millian approach to the definition of the proper name

Coates, Richard

Authors



Abstract

A strictly Millian approach to proper names is defended, i.e. one in which expressions when used properly ('onymically') refer directly, i.e. without the semantic intermediaryship of the words that appear to comprise them. The approach may appear self-evident for names which appear to have no component parts (in current English) but less so for others. Two modes of reference are distinguished for potentially ambiguous expressions such as The Long Island. A consequence of this distinction is to allow a speculative neurolinguistics of proper ('onymic') and semantic ('non-onymic') reference. A further consequence is that translation of onymically referring expressions is impossible (since they have no semantic content), and some apparently self-evident objections to this view are met by insisting on a distinction between a proper name as a referring expression and its etymology. The nature of the linguistic mechanism(s) by which an expression becomes proper (i.e. loses sense) shows that etymological opacity is a precondition for the survival of words in certain proper names, furnishing evidence for reference without sense. The process of becoming proper amounts to abrogation of sense for the purpose of reference, which is precisely the requirement for a systematic defence of Mill. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Citation

Coates, R. (2009). A strictly Millian approach to the definition of the proper name. Mind and Language, 24(4), 433-444. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0017.2009.01369.x

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Sep 1, 2009
Deposit Date Dec 19, 2012
Journal Mind and Language
Print ISSN 0268-1064
Electronic ISSN 1468-0017
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 24
Issue 4
Pages 433-444
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0017.2009.01369.x
Keywords names, proper names, name theory, linguistic theory, logic, pragmatics
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/993021
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0017.2009.01369.x
Related Public URLs http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/mila;jsessionid=jqnfrlkl51ya.alice?