Beyond Rigidity

Using a different conception of how the meaning of a sentence relates to the information asserted and conveyed by utterances, this book argues that the meaning of a linguistically simple name is its referent. It also shows that a meaning of a partially descriptive name is a compound, which includes a referent and partial description.

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In this fascinating work, Scott Soames offers a new conception of the relationship between linguistic meaning and assertions made by utterances. He gives meanings of proper names and natural kind predicates and explains their use in attitude ascriptions. He also demonstrates the irrelevance of rigid designation in understanding why theoretical identities containing such predicates are necessary, if true.