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Michael McKinsey

Consequences of Reference Failure

Consequences of Reference Failure

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This book defends the Direct Reference (DR) thesis in philosophy of language regarding proper names and indexical pronouns, exploring the consequences of DR when singular terms fail to refer. It suggests that only a form of neutral free logic can capture a revised concept of logical truth consistent with this possibility, and presents examples of true and false sentences that contain non-referring names.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 168 pages
Publication date: 14 June 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd


This book presents a comprehensive defense of the Direct Reference (DR) thesis in the philosophy of language, particularly concerning proper names and indexical pronouns. It delves into the profound implications of DR when combined with the observation that these singular terms can sometimes fail to refer. While DR is widely accepted among philosophers of language, many crucial and contentious consequences of the thesis have remained largely unexplored. This book makes a significant contribution to the DR literature by explicitly addressing the consequences that arise from DR in the context of reference failure.

Michael McKinsey contends that only a form of neutral free logic can adequately capture a revised concept of logical truth that accommodates the fact that any sentence of any form that contains a directly referring genuine term can fail to be either true or false on interpretations where that term fails to refer. He further elucidates how it is possible for there to be true (or false) sentences that contain non-referring names, despite this possibility appearing inconsistent with DR.

The consequences of reference failure will be of keen interest to philosophers of language, logic, and linguists engaged in the study of Direct Reference. This book offers a comprehensive exploration of these implications, shedding light on the complex interplay between language, truth, and reference and providing valuable insights into the broader field of philosophical inquiry.

Weight: 310g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032337760

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