PY1014: Philosophy 1 - The Riddles of Reference

Vocabulary flashcards covering PY1014 Philosophy 1, Week 8 Lecture 1 on the philosophy of language, focusing on Referentialism, Descriptivism, empty names, Frege's identity puzzle, and the riddle of non-being.

Proper Name

A linguistic label or tag used to refer to one and only one thing.

Referentialism (for Proper Names)

The view that the meaning of a proper name is the object referred to by that name (summarized by the slogan: Meaning = Reference), also known as the Direct Reference View.

Empty Name

A proper name that lacks a reference or does not refer to any existing object (e.g., 'Oberon' or 'Puck').

Frege's Identity Puzzle

The puzzle of how two identity statements can differ in cognitive value (e.g., 'George Orwell is Eric Blair' is informative, whereas 'George Orwell is George Orwell' is uninformative) despite co-referential names having identical meanings under Referentialism.

The Riddle of Non-Being

The philosophical problem of negative existential statements (such as 'Puck does not exist'), where attempting to meaningfully assert that an object does not exist paradoxically seems to commit the speaker to the existence or reference of that very object.

Singular Term

A linguistic term used to refer to one and only one thing, encompassing both proper names and definite descriptions.

Definite Description

A singular term expression having the form 'The so-and-so' (such as 'The author of 1984' or 'The tallest person in this room') that purports to pick out a unique object.

Descriptivism (for Proper Names)

The philosophical view that proper names are disguised definite descriptions and therefore share the descriptive content or meaning expressed in the form 'The so-and-so.'

Empty Definite Description

A definite description that possesses descriptive meaning but fails to refer, either because no object satisfies it (e.g., 'The present King of France') or because it is not definite enough and is satisfied by more than one object.

"Meaning Determines Reference"

The Descriptivist principle stating that if two singular terms have the same descriptive meaning, they have the same reference, although sameness of reference does not entail sameness of meaning.

Descriptivist Analysis of Empty Proper Names

The framework showing that empty proper names remain meaningful by functioning as disguised empty definite descriptions that provide descriptive content without picking out an actual referent.