{"id":5248,"date":"2017-09-11T05:52:06","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T05:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2017\/09\/11\/use-mention-and-identity\/"},"modified":"2017-09-11T05:52:06","modified_gmt":"2017-09-11T05:52:06","slug":"use-mention-and-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2017\/09\/11\/use-mention-and-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"Use, Mention, and Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed plausibly maintains that the following argument is invalid:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Hesperus is so-called because it appears in the evening<\/span>
Hesperus = Phosphorus<\/span>
————–<\/span>
Phosphorus is so-called because it appears in the evening.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But then he asks: if the above is invalid why isn't the following argument also invalid?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

'Hesperus\u2019 designates Hesperus<\/span>
Hesperus = Phosphorus<\/span>
————-<\/span>
\u2018Hesperus\u2019 designates Phosphorus.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I say both arguments are valid. The second strikes me as obviously valid.  As for the first, suppose we rewrite it by replacing 'so-called' with an equivalent expression. We get an argument I will call the REWRITE:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Hesperus is called 'Hesperus' because it appears in the evening<\/span>
Hesperus = Phosphorus<\/span>
————-<\/span>
Phosphorus is called 'Hesperus' because it appears in the evening.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now the conclusion of the REWRITE is admittedly strange. But it is true! Phosphorus is called 'Hesperus' when it appears in the evening, and it is called that because it appears in the evening.   So the REWRITE is valid, whence  it follows that the first argument, pace<\/em> Ed, is valid.<\/span><\/p>\n

So both arguments are valid.   <\/span> <\/p>\n

UPDATE (9\/12). My thesis is refuted in the combox. But as Chisholm once said after some point of his had been refuted, "Well, at least I said something clear enough to be refuted!"  I am not suggesting, however, that Ed's suggestion that the second argument supra<\/em> is invalid has any merit.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ed plausibly maintains that the following argument is invalid: Hesperus is so-called because it appears in the eveningHesperus = Phosphorus————–Phosphorus is so-called because it appears in the evening. But then he asks: if the above is invalid why isn't the following argument also invalid? 'Hesperus\u2019 designates HesperusHesperus = Phosphorus————-\u2018Hesperus\u2019 designates Phosphorus. I say both arguments … Continue reading “Use, Mention, and Identity”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[346,408],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-identity-and-individuation","category-language-philosophy-of"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5248\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}