Is Superman a Sense or a Superhero?

dc.contributor.authorGarro Rivero, Rodrigo Rafaelen
dc.contributor.committeechairHoek, Danielen
dc.contributor.committeememberTrogdon, Kelly Griffithen
dc.contributor.committeememberSud, Rohanen
dc.contributor.departmentPhilosophyen
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-06T08:01:09Zen
dc.date.available2023-06-06T08:01:09Zen
dc.date.issued2023-06-05en
dc.description.abstractThis paper discusses the puzzle introduced by Jennifer Saul, which involves swapping coreferential proper names in simple sentences such as (1) Benito dresses as Clark Kent, and (1*) Benito dresses as Superman. While the traditional Frege's puzzle suggests that such substitutions do not change the truth value of a sentence, Saul's puzzle suggests otherwise. My paper explains Saul's proposed solution based on conversational implicatures and argues against it. Then I introduce a different solution called the Shifty-Fregean solution, which states that proper names in some contexts refer to their senses rather than the reference. The paper argues that this solution is better than Saul's and outlines a new approach to Saul's puzzle. The paper is divided into three sections. First, I will provide an overview of Saul's puzzle and Frege's puzzle. Second, I will discuss Saul's solution and its rejection. Finally, I will develop the Shifty-Fregean solution.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralThis paper discusses the puzzle introduced by Jennifer Saul, which involves swapping coreferential proper names (i.e. names that refer to the same object) in simple sentences such as (1) Benito dresses as Clark Kent, and (1*) Benito dresses as Superman. While the traditional Frege's puzzle suggests that such substitutions do not change the truth value of a sentence, Saul's puzzle suggests that they do. My paper explains Saul's proposed solution based on conversational implicatures (i.e. inferences that speakers make based on the literal meaning and the context of the conversation) and argues against it. Then I introduce a different solution called the Shifty-Fregean solution, which states that proper names in some contexts refer to their senses rather than the reference. The paper argues that this solution is better than Saul's and outlines a new approach to Saul's puzzle. The paper is divided into three sections. First, I will provide an overview of Saul's puzzle and Frege's puzzle. Second, I will discuss Saul's solution and its rejection. Finally, I will develop the Shifty-Fregean solution.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:37099en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/115333en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectFrege's puzzleen
dc.subjectcoreferring namesen
dc.subjectsensesen
dc.subjectconversational implicaturesen
dc.titleIs Superman a Sense or a Superhero?en
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplinePhilosophyen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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