Names That Name Nothing

Theories of direct reference maintain that names contribute their bearers to propositions expressed by sentences or utterances on occasions of use. On these theories, names contribute only their bearers and have no surplus meaning. The sentence "Wittgenstein taught school in Kirchberg� expresses the proposition identified by the ordered pair <Wittgenstein, having taught school in Kirchberg>. Whether theories of direct reference are correct is a matter of dispute. Kripke"s (1972) arguments against descriptive theories of the meanings of names were persuasive, but descriptive theorists have persuasively fought back (Stanley, 1997). In this paper, I will not attempt to settle the larger dispute between the two opposing camps, but will focus on the matter of what a direct reference theorist ought to say about names that lack bearers. In order even to be a contender in the larger dispute between referentialists and descriptivists, theories of direct reference must have a plausible story to tell about the use of names that name nothing in utterances and sentences both positive and negative

Kant, the transcendental designation of I, and the direct reference theory

The aim of this paper is to address the semantic issue of the nature of the representation I and of the transcendental designation, i.e., the self-referential apparatus involved in transcendental apperception. The I think, the bare or empty representation I, is the representational vehicle of the concept of transcendental subject; as such, it is a simple representation. The awareness of oneself as thinking is only expressed by the I: the intellectual representation which performs a referential function of the spontaneity of a thinking subject. To begin with, what exactly does Kant mean when he states that I is a simple and empty representation? Secondly, can the features of the representation I and the correlative transcendental designation explain the indexical nature of the I? Thirdly, do the Kantian considerations on indexicality anticipate any of the semantic elements or, if nothing else, the spirit of the direct reference theory

Direct Reference and Singular Propositions

Most direct reference theorists about indexicals and proper names have adopted the thesis that singular propositions about physical objects are composed of physical objects and properties.1 There have been a number of recent proponents of such a view, including Scott Soames, Nathan Salmon, John Perry, Howard Wettstein, and David Kaplan.2 Since Kaplan is the individual who is best known for holding such a view, let's call a proposition that is composed of objects and properties a K-proposition. In this paper, I will attempt to show that a direct reference view about the content of proper names and indexicals leads very naturally to the position that all singular propositions about physical objects are K-propositions.3 Then, I will attempt to show that this view of propositions is false. I will spend the bulk of the paper on this latter task. My goal in the paper, then, is to show that adopting the direct reference thesis comes at a cost problems the view has with problems such as opacity and the significance of some identity statements; it comes at even more of a cost)

Direct reference and the Goldbach puzzle

. This is also known as the Neo-Russellian theory. Using truth ascriptions with names designating propositions, such as ‘Goldbach's conjecture’, in this paper, I will argue that, together with highly plausible principles regarding a priori knowledge, the Neo-Russellian theory leads to unacceptable consequences. I will call this ‘the Goldbach puzzle’. Since the solution to the Goldbach puzzle cannot be to reject the discussed principles regarding a priori knowledge, the puzzle will undermine the Neo-Russellian theory

On decays of light unflavoured pseudoscalar mesons

The ongoing and planned experimental activities with direct reference to light unflavoured pseudoscalar mesons motivate a new theoretical study regarding their properties. An overview including details on new precise calculations is presented.Comment: 9 pages, 1 fugre, presented at Physics of Fundamental Symmetries and Interactions - PSI201

Intuition, Externalism, and Direct Reference in Ockham

In this paper I challenge recent externalist interpretations of Ockham’s theory of intuitive cognition. I begin by distinguishing two distinct theses that defenders of the externalist interpretation typically attribute to Ockham: a ‘direct reference thesis’, according to which intuitive cognitions are states that lack all internal, descriptive content; and a ‘causal thesis’, according to which intuitive states are wholly determined by causal connections they bear to singular objects. I then argue that neither can be plausibly credited to Ockham. In particular, I claim that the causal thesis doesn’t square with Ockham’s account of supernaturally produced intuition and that the direct reference thesis sits uneasily with Ockham’s characterization of the intentional structure of intuitive states

Contra Bealer's reductio of direct reference of theory

Beater, in a 2004 paper, presents an argument that he takes to be a reductio of what he argues to be the most favourable interpretation of identity sentences available to direct reference theory. We argue that his argument fails. If the dummy mode-of-presentation operator Beater introduces induces extensional contexts then the argument is a trivially valid reductio, since its only premise is identical to the conclusion. But it is untenable that the operator should be extensional. If the operator is intensional then the argument comes out invalid, and so there is no reductio. Either way, the advocates of direct reference theory are at liberty to reject Beater's interpretation, since it is self-contradictory.Web of Science21650248

Linear in temperature correction to the Casimir force

We discuss the temperature correction to the Casimir force between nonideal metallic bodies which caused disagreement in the literature. A general method to find the troubling term is proposed that does not require a direct reference to the Lifshitz formula. The linear in temperature correction is shown to survive for nonideal metals. It is important for small separations between bodies tested in the recent experiments.Comment: 5 pages, REVTEX, to be published in Phys. Lett.

The difference between presence-based education and distance learning

Attempts to define distance learning always involve comparisons with presence-based education, as the latter is the most direct reference that the former has. It is on this basis that the convergent points, similarities and differences of the two types of approach are established. This article opens with such a comparison, before going on to focus mainly on distance learning and to examine methodological strategies that should be borne in mind when implementing an e-learning system