Natural Name Theory and Linguistic Kinds

Miller, J.T.M.

doi:10.5840/jphil2019116930

Natural Name Theory and Linguistic Kinds

Miller, J.T.M.

Authors

Dr James Miller james.miller@durham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor

Abstract

The natural name theory, recently discussed by Johnson (2018), is proposed as an explanation of pure quotation where the quoted term(s) refers to a linguistic object such as in the sentence ‘In the above, ‘bank’ is ambiguous’. After outlining the theory, I raise a problem for the natural name theory. I argue that positing a resemblance relation between the name and the linguistic object it names does not allow us to rule out cases where the natural name fails to resemble the linguistic object it names. I argue that to avoid this problem, we can combine the natural name theory with a type-realist metaphysics of language, and hold that the name is natural because the name is an instance of the kind that it names. I conclude by reflecting on the importance of the metaphysics of language for questions in the philosophy of language.

Citation

Miller, J. (2019). Natural Name Theory and Linguistic Kinds. Journal of Philosophy, 116(9), 494-508. https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil2019116930

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Mar 29, 2019
Online Publication Date	Sep 1, 2019
Publication Date	2019-09
Deposit Date	Jul 29, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Jul 29, 2020
Journal	Journal of Philosophy
Print ISSN	0022-362X
Electronic ISSN	1939-8549
Publisher	Journal of Philosophy
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	116
Issue	9
Pages	494-508
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil2019116930