Links_on_denotation

Capture background on the subject of denotation

Reading

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descriptive_theory_of_names
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_and_reference
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_re
• http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/logic-intensional/
• http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/frege/
• http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/goodman-aesthetics/

Probes

Various ways in which denotation and related relations are teased apart.

Compare:

• "Barack Obama"
• "The president of the United State on July 20, 2009" The referent, or entity designated by these two information entities is the same. In what ways are the two entities and their relationship to Barack Obama (the person) different?

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What is the relationship between "1 + 2" and 3.

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Eric Arthur Blair is George Orwell

"Eric Arthur Blair" and "George Orwell" refer to the same individual. If their total meaning was what they refer to then the sentence above wouldn't have any content. If you think it does (and people think it does), then there's something more to these names then just what they refer to.

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http://ismir2001.ismir.net/pdf/smiraglia.pdf describes Pierce's distinctions: a) likenesses, which convey ideas of the things they represent through imitation; b) indications, which show something about things by being physically connected with them; and c) symbols, or general signs, which have become associated with their meanings by usage.

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Simon's Parts (http://books.google.com/books?id=vX7t7n9Mk_wC) uses the term designation when discussing the relation of symbols to entities, specifically in the area of mereology. Further distinguished are singular versus plural designation.

Ways of referring

• (a) The utterer has direct experience with some set of particulars and creates an information entity to designate those exact things by giving them one or more proper names.