Descriptivist theory of names

In the <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_language/qwNCwF4W">philosophy of language</a>, the descriptivist theory of proper names (also descriptivist theory of reference) is the view that the meaning or semantic content of a <a href="/facts/Proper_name_(philosophy)/DKmaH31g">proper name</a> is identical to the descriptions associated with it by speakers, while their referents are determined to be the objects that satisfy these descriptions. <a href="/facts/Bertrand_Russell/SRpwNX2U">Bertrand Russell</a> and <a href="/facts/Gottlob_Frege/FXyStVYj">Gottlob Frege</a> have both been associated with the descriptivist theory, which has been called the <a href="/facts/Mediated_reference_theory/PSMqyslN">mediated reference theory</a> or Frege–Russell view.
In the 1970s, this theory came under attack from <a href="/facts/Causal_theory_of_reference/XhNeaRrS">causal theorists</a> such as <a href="/facts/Saul_Kripke/qEkI8qW8">Saul Kripke</a>, <a href="/facts/Hilary_Putnam/ujwAh4Ry">Hilary Putnam</a> and others. However, it has seen something of a revival in recent years, especially under the form of what are called <a href="/facts/Two-dimensionalism/3AbcgCfJ">two-dimensional</a> semantic theories. This latter trend is exemplified by the theories of <a href="/facts/David_Chalmers/poKbqEWc">David Chalmers</a>, among others.

Descriptivist theory of names open-in-new

Descriptivist theory of names