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    Kripke's modal argument establishes that proper names are... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Proper names must have a sense, not merely a referent.

    Kripke's modal argument establishes that proper names are rigid designators that track the same individual across all possible worlds, independent of any descriptive sense.

    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Names like 'Aristotle' refer to the same person in counterfactuals even if descriptions (tutor of Alexander) differ across worlds.
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    • 2.Descriptivism fails because the object satisfying a description could have been different; rigid designation explains this intuition.
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    • 3.The causal-historical chain grounding reference operates independently of whether speakers know identifying descriptions.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Names exhibit context-sensitivity and can shift referents based on speaker intentions, challenging pure rigidity across all scenarios.
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    • 2.Some descriptive content (e.g., 'water' as H2O) seems constitutive to reference, not merely contingent accompaniments to names.
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    • 3.Kripke's modal intuitions rely on antecedent assumptions about identity that haven't been independently justified without circularity.
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    Related

    Descriptivism fails because the object satisfying a description could have been ...Kripke's modal intuitions rely on antecedent assumptions about identity that hav...Names exhibit context-sensitivity and can shift referents based on speaker inten...Names like 'Aristotle' refer to the same person in counterfactuals even if descr...
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    Proper names must have a sense, not merely a referent.Some descriptive content (e.g., 'water' as H2O) seems constitutive to reference,...The causal-historical chain grounding reference operates independently of whethe...

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit