Topic: HUMAN SEMANTICS
Indexicals, Fictions, and Ficta
by Eros Corazza and Mark Whitsey
We defend the view that an indexical uttered by an actor works on the model of deferred reference. If it defers to a character which does not exist, it is an empty term, just as `Hamlet' and `Ophelia' are. The utterance in which it appears does not express a proposition and thus lacks a truth value. We advocate an ontologically parsimonious, anti-realist, position. We show how the notion of truth in our use and understanding of indexicals (and fictional names) as they appear within a fiction is not a central issue. We claim that our use and understanding of indexicals (and names) rests on the fact that their cognitive contribution is not exhausted by their semantic contribution.
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Posted by Tony Marmo
at 00:01 BST
Updated: Sunday, 17 October 2004 04:46 BST
