Definite description
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| - | In [[linguistics]], '''meaning''' is what the [[Communication source|source or sender]] expresses, communicates, or [[conveyed concept|conveys]] in their [[message]] to the observer or [[receiver (information theory)|receiver]], and what the receiver [[inference|infers]] from the current [[context (language use)|context]]. | + | A '''definite description''' is a [[denotation|denoting]] [[phrase]] in the form of "the X" where X is a noun-phrase or a singular common [[noun]]. The definite description is ''proper'' if X applies to a unique individual or object. For example: "[[Yuri Gagarin|the first person in space]]" and "[[Bill Clinton|the 42nd President of the United States of America]]", are proper. The definite descriptions "the person in space" and "the Senator from Ohio" are ''improper'' because the noun phrase X applies to more than one thing, and the definite descriptions "the first man on Mars" and "the Senator from Washington D.C." are ''improper'' because X applies to nothing. Improper descriptions raise some difficult questions about the [[law of excluded middle]], [[denotation]], [[Linguistic modality|modality]], and [[mental content]]. |
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| - | * [[Meaning (non-linguistic)]] | + | * [[Philosophy of language]] |
| - | * [[Sphoṭa]] | + | * [[Analytic philosophy]] |
| - | ''Fields'' | + | *[[Bertrand Russell]] |
| - | * [[General Semantics]], [[semiotics]], [[pragmatics]] | + | *[[John Searle]] |
| - | ''Perspectives'' | + | |
| - | * [[Logical positivism]] | + | |
| - | * [[Ordinary language philosophy]] | + | |
| - | ''Theories'' | + | |
| - | *[[Causal theory of names]] | + | |
| - | *[[Definite description]]s | + | |
| - | *[[Theory of descriptions]] | + | |
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
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A definite description is a denoting phrase in the form of "the X" where X is a noun-phrase or a singular common noun. The definite description is proper if X applies to a unique individual or object. For example: "the first person in space" and "the 42nd President of the United States of America", are proper. The definite descriptions "the person in space" and "the Senator from Ohio" are improper because the noun phrase X applies to more than one thing, and the definite descriptions "the first man on Mars" and "the Senator from Washington D.C." are improper because X applies to nothing. Improper descriptions raise some difficult questions about the law of excluded middle, denotation, modality, and mental content.
See also
