Abstract
This essay discusses some aspects of the logical behaviour of sentences in languages containing indexical and demonstrative expressions. After some preliminary remarks in section one, sections two and three focus on instances of logically true sentences that may be uttered falsely, and on cases of logically equivalent sentences whose utterances may have distinct truth-values. The logical and semantic problems taken into consideration include the validity of a Principle of Translation, the so-called ‘puzzle of addressing’, and examples related to measurement and approximation. Section four discusses the complementary phenomenon of sentences that may presumably always be uttered truly, but that do not qualify as logically true. In particular, I argue against the widespread tendency to consider ‘I am here now’ or ‘I exist’ as truths of the logic of indexicals.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Bach, K.: 1992, ‘Intentions and Demonstrations’Analysis 52, 140–146.
Braun, D.: 1994, ‘Structured Characters and Complex Demonstratives’Philosophical Studies 74, 193–219.
Burge, T.: 1978, ‘Self-Reference and Translation’in F. Guenther and M. Guenther-Reutter (eds.), Meaning and Translation, Duckworth, pp. 137–153.
Corazza, E., Fish, W. and J. Gorvett: 2002, ‘Who Is I?’Philosophical Studies 107, 1–21.
Crimmins, M.: 1992, Talk About Beliefs, MIT Press, Cambridge.
Forbes, G.: 1990, ‘The Indispensability of Sinn’Philosophical Review 99, 535–564.
Garcia-Carpintero, M.: 1998, ‘Indexicals as Token-Reflexives’Mind 107, 529–563.
Hart, W.D.: 1970, ‘On Self-Reference’Philosophical Review, 523–528.
Heim, I. and A. Kratzer: 1998, Semantics in Generative Grammar, Blackwell, Oxford.
Kamp, H.: 1971, ‘Formal Properties of “Now”’Theoria 31, 227–273.
Kripke, S.: 1979, ‘A Puzzle About Belief’in A. Margalit (ed.), Meaning and Use, Reidel, Dordrecht, pp. 239–283. Reprinted in N. Salmon and S. Soames (eds.), Propositions and Attitudes, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1988.
Lewis, D.: 1979, ‘Scorekeeping in a Language Game’Journal of Philosophical Logic 8, 339–359. Reprinted in D. Lewis, Philosophical Papers, Vol. I, Oxford University Press, 1983.
Lewis, D.: 1980, ‘Index, Context, and Content’in S. Kanger and S. Öhman (eds.), Philosophy and Grammar, Reidel, Dordrecht. Reprinted in D. Lewis, Papers in Philosophical Logic, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1998.
Perry, J.: 2001, Reference and Reflexivity, CSLI Publications, Stanford, Ca.
Predelli, S.: 1998, ‘I Am Not Here Now’Analysis 58, 107–115.
Quine, W.V.O.: 1960, Word and Object, MIT Press, Cambridge, Ma.
Reimer, M.: 1991, ‘Demonstratives, Demonstrations, and Demonstrata’Philosophical Studies 63, 187–202.
Romdenh-Romluc, K.: 2002, ‘Now the French are invading England!’Analysis 62, 34–41.
Salmon, N.: 1991, ‘How Not to Become a Millian Heir’Philosophical Studies 62, 165–177.
Salmon, N.: 1995, ‘Being of Two Minds: Belief With Doubt’Nous 29, 1–20.
Sidelle, A.: 1991, ‘The Answering Machine Paradox’Canadian Journal of Philosophy 21, 525–539.
Stanley, J.: 2002, ‘Nominal Restriction’in Peters and Preyer (eds.), Logical Form and Language, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Tsohatzidis, S.L.: 1992, ‘Pronouns of Address and Truth Conditions’Linguistics 30, 569–575.
Zimmermann, T.: 1997, ‘The Addressing Puzzle’in W. Künne, A. Newen and M. Anduschus (eds.), Direct Reference; Indexicality; and Propositional Attitudes, CSLI Publications, Stanford, Ca., pp. 133–153.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Predelli, S. Think Before You Speak: Utterances and the Logic of Indexicals. Argumentation 18, 445–463 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-004-4907-0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-004-4907-0