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    Carmelics

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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Mill argued in 'A System of Logic' that proper names are 'non-connotative': they denote individuals but do not imply any attribute of those individuals.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.We identify and distinguish individuals partly through their properties; some minimal descriptive content seems built into proper name use and learning.
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    • 2.Names like 'Aristotle' or 'Napoleon' carry historical-descriptive baggage that shapes how speakers use them, suggesting some connotation is present.
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    • 3.Mill's distinction between connotation and denotation may be too rigid; names could have conventional associations without strict logical connotation.
      ?

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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Proper names successfully refer to individuals across contexts where their attributes change, suggesting reference doesn't depend on fixed attributes.
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    • 2.If names connotated attributes, we couldn't meaningfully learn new facts about named individuals without changing what the name means.
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    • 3.Names function identically whether the bearer has few or many known attributes, implying attributes are external to the name's core meaning.
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