Abstract
AbstractPhilosophers have paid more attention to proper names (hereafter “names”) than to any other semantic kind. They have also more often focused on names in works of fact than in fiction, and almost always considered individual works, fact or fiction, in isolation from one another. Though serial fiction, which requires considering them not in isolation but in combination, is an extremely common use of language, it is understudied, presenting new challenges to semantic theories. This article proposes a novel account of the semantics of names, called “semantic dualism,” motivated by serial fiction with lessons also for serial fact. According to semantic dualism, the reference of names is in some contexts mediated and in others is not. Those contexts involve how names are used serially across different works. Given semantic dualism's novelty, this article is programmatic, aiming to establish that semantic dualism warrants further investigation.
Published Version
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