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    Proper names must have a sense, not merely a referent. — Carmelics
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    Proper names must have a sense, not merely a referent.

    Philosophy of Language
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    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.The proper name is a subdivision of the nomen (name), which is a fully-fledged part of speech.
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    • 2.The nomen signifies substance with quality — it signifies a thing of a certain sort.
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    • 3.Because proper names share the same semantic properties as common names, proper names can and must be taken to have a sense.
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
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    • 1.Proper names, unlike common nouns, do not convey any descriptive content that would be false if the bearer lacked the associated properties.
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    • 2.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.
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    • 3.If proper names carried sense in the way common nouns do, substituting 'Aristotle' for 'the pupil of Plato' should preserve truth-value in all contexts, yet it demonstrably does not.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
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    • 1.The fact that nomina signify substance-with-quality in Latin grammar reflects a syntactic classification, not a semantic thesis about reference and sense.
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    • 2.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.
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    • 3.Sharing grammatical category with common nouns does not entail sharing the same semantic mechanism, since syntactic form and semantic function are independently variable.
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    Philosophy of Language

    Related

    Because proper names share the same semantic properties as common names, proper ...If proper names carried sense in the way common nouns do, substituting 'Aristotl...Kripke's modal argument establishes that proper names are rigid designators that...Mill argued in 'A System of Logic' that proper names are 'non-connotative': they...
    +5 moreShow less
    Proper names, unlike common nouns, do not convey any descriptive content that wo...Sharing grammatical category with common nouns does not entail sharing the same ...The fact that nomina signify substance-with-quality in Latin grammar reflects a ...The nomen signifies substance with quality — it signifies a thing of a certain s...The proper name is a subdivision of the nomen (name), which is a fully-fledged p...

    Similar

    Proper names carry two kinds of sense: a particular sense and an assoc...85%The Millian-Russellian holds that the content of a name is its referen...85%The sense of a name is a condition which the referent uniquely satisfi...85%A proper name like 'Smith' can be used with referential intentions tha...84%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: singular-terms-medieval
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    The Stoics had made a clear distinction between proper names and common nouns, listing them as different parts of speech, but while this possibility was recognized by Priscian and the influential twelfth century grammarian, Peter Helias, it was not adopted. According to Priscian, the nomen, the noun or name, is the first of the principal parts of speech, and it signifies substance with quality, that is, it signifies a thing of a certain sort, or an individual established in a certain nature. The
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit