The Teetotaler and His Martini

Author: Predelli, Stefano

Source: Mind & Language, Volume 15, Number 5, November 2000 , pp. 511-527(17)

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Abstract:

I present a Russellian analysis of Donnellan's classic examples involving empty definite descriptions, such as a use of `the man with the Martini' in a scenario in which the intended target is a teetotaler with water in his glass. Unlike the traditional Kripke-style responses to Donnellan, my analysis grants semantic significance to the intuition that, in appropriate circumstances, such a use picks out the teetotaler. I then argue that the apparatus developed in my discussion of Donnellan's examples may be successfully applied to the semantic treatment of improper definite descriptions, such as `the table' in Strawson's `the table is covered with books.'

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-0017.00148

Affiliations: 1: Filosofisk Institutt, Universitetet i Oslo, Norway

Publication date: 2000-11-01