Descriptive Names as Descriptions of Names

Friday 27th February 2009 (14:30-16:30 pm)

Gregory Bochner (PhD with François Recanati and P. Kreutz)

Abstract. So-called descriptive names are names whose reference is known only by description. For instance, « Jack the Ripper » is a name for whoever committed certain crimes in London. I argue that the characteristic feature of descriptive names is that in their case it is not only the reference of the name but also the very name itself which is known only by description. This is so because both its form and its bearer are essential ingredients of what metaphysically individuates any given name, so that not knowing exactly which entity is the actual referent of a name (i.e. knowing the referent only by description) entails not knowing exactly which name is the actual name (i.e. knowing the name only by description). I then argue that most names are descriptive in this metasemantic sense (relative to particular speakers at particular times) and that this is what explains the cognitive significance of names in general.