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    The 'associated descriptive sense' fails as a semantic co... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Proper names carry two kinds of sense: a particular sense and an associated descriptive sense.

    The 'associated descriptive sense' fails as a semantic component because users can refer successfully to Virgil while holding false or no descriptions of him.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.People successfully refer to historical figures like Virgil despite holding contradictory or minimal descriptions of them.
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    • 2.If descriptions were necessary for reference, speakers unable to articulate accurate descriptions couldn't refer at all.
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    • 3.Causal-historical chains connecting speakers to referents better explain successful reference than descriptive content alone.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Some descriptions are constitutive of identity—false descriptions of Virgil's era or authorship would misidentify the referent entirely.
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    • 2.Successful reference requires minimal descriptive constraints (e.g., 'a historical poet'); pure causality without any descriptive anchor is insufficient.
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    • 3.The argument conflates descriptive content's necessity with its sufficiency, but semantic components need not determine reference uniquely.
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    Philosophy of Language1 linked

    Related

    Causal-historical chains connecting speakers to referents better explain success...If descriptions were necessary for reference, speakers unable to articulate accu...People successfully refer to historical figures like Virgil despite holding cont...Proper names carry two kinds of sense: a particular sense and an associated desc...
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    Some descriptions are constitutive of identity—false descriptions of Virgil's er...Successful reference requires minimal descriptive constraints (e.g., 'a historic...The argument conflates descriptive content's necessity with its sufficiency, but...

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
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