ISBN : 9780198801795
Imogen Dickie develops an account of aboutness-fixing for thoughts about ordinary objects, and of reference-fixing for the singular terms we use to express them. She explains how relations to objects including perceptual attention, understanding of proper names, and grasp of descriptions do their aboutness-fixing and thought-enabling work.
1 Introduction; 2 In which a precise version of the connection between aboutness and justification is derived from more basic principles; 3 The mind has a basic need to represent things outside itself; 4 Perceptual demonstratives; 5 Proper names; 6 The delicate question of reference by description; 7 Descriptions and singular thought; 8 Thought and consciousness; Appendix: Key to notation; References; Index