Richard
Mendelsohn The City University of New York (CUNY)
"Propositions
and the Scope Distinction"
Abstract:
It has been thought that the referential/attributive distinction poses
a challenge to Russell's theory of descriptions. I suggest, to
the contrary, that the distinction can be represented using Russell's
scope machinery. The key is to frame the task as one of
eliminating a description from what appears to be a complex singular
term, 'the proposition that the F is G'. I will explore
some consequences of this analysis for current discussions about meaning