1746-8361/asset/dltc_centre.gif?v=1&s=8b04071e456f4b7caa8ce5367bf8b8f3d01f1ae0)
Indexicals, Fictions, and Ficta
Article first published online: 23 JUN 2005
DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-8361.2003.tb00260.x
1746-8361/asset/cover.gif?v=1&s=3027d1d6fdf35d9b8cb0e59c7db29740e41539e8 "Dialectica")
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How to Cite
Corazza, E. and Whitsey, M. (2003), Indexicals, Fictions, and Ficta. Dialectica, 57: 121–136. doi: 10.1111/j.1746-8361.2003.tb00260.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 23 JUN 2005
- Article first published online: 23 JUN 2005
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Abstract
We defend the view that an indexical uttered by an actor works on the model of deferred reference. If it defers to a character which does not exist, it is an empty term, just as‘Hamlet’and‘Ophelia’are. The utterance in which it appears does not express a proposition and thus lacks a truth value. We advocate an ontologically parsimonious, anti-realist, position. We show how the notion of truth in our use and understanding of indexicals (and fictional names) as they appear within a fiction is not a central issue. We claim that our use and understanding of indexicals (and names) rests on the fact that their cognitive contribution is not exhausted by their semantic contribution.