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Sense and the Computation of Reference

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Abstract

The paper shows how ideas that explain the sense of an expression as a method or algorithm for finding its reference, preshadowed in Frege’s dictum that sense is the way in which a referent is given, can be formalized on the basis of the ideas in Thomason (1980). To this end, the function that sends propositions to truth values or sets of possible worlds in Thomason (1980) must be replaced by a relation and the meaning postulates governing the behaviour of this relation must be given in the form of a logic program. The resulting system does not only throw light on the properties of sense and their relation to computation, but also shows circular behaviour if some ingredients of the Liar Paradox are added. The connection is natural, as algorithms can be inherently circular and the Liar is explained as expressing one of those. Many ideas in the present paper are closely related to those in Moschovakis (1994), but receive a considerably lighter formalization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Linguistics, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Reinhard Muskens

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  1. Reinhard Muskens
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Correspondence to Reinhard Muskens.

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This paper is based on talks held at the Sinn und Bedeutungworkshop in Osnabrück 2001 and the Sinn und Bedeutungworkshop in Konstanz 2002. I would like to thank my audiences there for asking the right questions. Two anonymous referees gave valuable comments.

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Muskens, R. Sense and the Computation of Reference. Linguist Philos 28, 473–504 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-004-7684-1

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