Abstract
A number of authors in favor of a unitary account of singular descriptions have alleged that the unitary account can be extrapolated to account for plural definite descriptions. In this paper I take a closer look at this suggestion. I argue that while the unitary account is clearly onto something right, it is in the end empirically inadequate. At the end of the paper I offer a new partitive account of plural definite descriptions that avoids the problems with both the unitary account and standard Russellian analyses.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 402-426 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Mind and Language |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Philosophy
- Linguistics and Language