The links of causal chains

Bibliographic Data

ID20142178
AuthorsHans Kamp (Universitat Stuttgart Stuttgart Germany, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume88
Issue2
Pages296-325
Publication date2022-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTheoria (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0040-5825 • E-ISSN: 1755-2567
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/theo.12381
OpenAlexW4213101441
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

This paper is about the Causal Theory of Names, as outlined by Kripke in Naming and Necessity . The paper argues that causal chains which connect users in command of a name N with those present at the baptismal event in which N was introduced are branches of networks of ‘ N ‐labelled’ entity representations in the minds of past and present users of N. These networks of N ‐labelled entity representations are special cases of networks that result in general from the use of referring expressions. Such networks are an important part of the fabric that holds a speech community together and point towards a view of language as a social practice. The theory of networks and chains is developed within MSDRT (‘Mental State Discourse Representation Theory’), an extension of DRT designed for the description of utterance contents, propositional attitudes, mental states and the ways in which mental states change in the course of verbal communication. The last section of the paper explores the view of languages as social practices somewhat further in the light of the network theory developed in the sections leading up to it

Causal chain · Causal theory of reference · Cognition · Cognitive science · Epistemology · Event (particle physics) · Extension (predicate logic) · Linguistics · Mental representation · Mental state · Point (geometry) · Representation (politics) · State (computer science) · Utterance · Computer Science · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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