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    Proper names refer directly to their bearers without any ... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Proper names carry two kinds of sense: a particular sense and an associated descriptive sense.

    Proper names refer directly to their bearers without any mediating sense, as Kripke argues in 'Naming and Necessity' via rigid designation across possible worlds.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.We can identify the same person across counterfactual scenarios without knowing their properties, suggesting reference bypasses descriptive content.
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    • 2.Names in scientific discourse refer to natural kinds regardless of theories about them, indicating direct reference independent of sense.
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    • 3.Proper names lack the truth-conditional variability of descriptions, pointing to a non-mediated, world-independent referential mechanism.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Children and non-experts use proper names successfully despite lacking the direct causal-historical contact Kripke requires for reference.
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    • 2.We cannot distinguish direct reference from highly automatic descriptive content; 'no mediation' may mischaracterize very fast cognitive processes.
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    • 3.Names in fiction and mistaken identity cases suggest some descriptive criteria remain necessary for determining what a name actually picks out.
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    Philosophy of Language1 linked

    Related

    Children and non-experts use proper names successfully despite lacking the direc...Names in fiction and mistaken identity cases suggest some descriptive criteria r...Names in scientific discourse refer to natural kinds regardless of theories abou...Proper names carry two kinds of sense: a particular sense and an associated desc...
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    Proper names lack the truth-conditional variability of descriptions, pointing to...We can identify the same person across counterfactual scenarios without knowing ...We cannot distinguish direct reference from highly automatic descriptive content...

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