The Denotation of Copredicative Nouns

Bibliographic Data

ID21461693
AuthorsMarina Ortega-Andrés (0000-0003-3472-3824, University of the Basque Country, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume88
Issue7
Pages3113-3143
Publication date2023-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueErkenntnis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0165-0106 • E-ISSN: 1572-8420
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10670-021-00493-8
OpenAlexW4206569131
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited38

Copredication is the phenomenon whereby two or more predicates seem to require that their argument denotes different things. The denotation of words that copredicate has been broadly discussed. In this paper, I investigate the metaphysics behind this question. Thus, mereological theories of dot objects claim that these nouns denote complex entities; Asher (Lexical meaning in context, Cambridge University Press, 2011, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511793936) thinks that they denote bare particulars; and the Activation Package Theory contends that they stand for multiple denotations. According to the Activation Package Theory, copredicative nouns stand for complex knowledge structures that offer a range of multiple potential denotations. In this paper, I claim that the Activation Package Theory contributes to solve some of the metaphysical questions that arise from copredication

Epistemology · Linguistics · Mereology · Metaphysics · Noun · Ontology · Proper noun · Semiotics · Computer Science · History · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · linguistics and terminology studies · Mathematics · Philosophy · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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