2. Using “I” ‘as Subject’: Cartesian Reference or No Reference?

Author: Bar-On, Dorit

Source: Speaking My Mind, November 2004 , pp. 27-55(29)

Publisher: Oxford Scholarship Online Monographs

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Abstract:

The uniquely secure status of avowals apparently has something to do with the special way an avowing subject refers to herself by the pronoun ‘I’, as opposed to referring to herself by some description. However, the author argues in this chapter that excessive focus on the way ‘I’ refers has led people astray. In particular, she criticizes the view that we must see ‘I’ as referring to some special object, a Cartesian ego, as well as Anscombe’s view that ‘I’ in fact, does not refer at all. Both accounts fail to respect the Semantic Continuity of avowals with other empirical reports.

Keywords: Anscombe’s ‘No Reference View’; reference; uses of; ‘I’; Cartesian ego

Document Type: Research article

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