Abstract
Copredication is the phenomenon whereby two or more predicates seem to require that their argument denotes different things. The denotation of words that copredicate has been broadly discussed. In this paper, I investigate the metaphysics behind this question. Thus, mereological theories of dot objects claim that these nouns denote complex entities; Asher (Lexicalmeaning in context, Cambridge University Press, 2011, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511793936) thinks that they denote bare particulars; and the Activation Package Theory contends that they stand for multiple denotations. According to the Activation Package Theory, copredicative nouns stand for complex knowledge structures that offer a range of multiple potential denotations. In this paper, I claim that the Activation Package Theory contributes to solve some of the metaphysical questions that arise from copredication.
Highlights
Copredication occurs when the same expression comes along with simultaneous predications for two different meanings or senses of the word in a sentence
Can we say that these parts of the statue coincide materially? A plausible answer would be that when we look at the statue, we look at both pieces as a whole and we cannot distinguish between them as independent things
The counting puzzle has been proposed against mereological theories that claim that dot objects are simple sums of parts
Summary
Copredication occurs when the same expression comes along with simultaneous predications for two (or more) different meanings or senses of the word in a sentence. In a copredicative sentence like (5), the word book denotes the complex object formed by two parts: the physical object that is on the table and the informational content that is very interesting. These complex entities are in co-constitutive relation with their parts. The two senses of the word book (informational content and physical object) are aspects of the same rich informational structure They form an activation package that explains why they typically copredicate. With the existence of real-world complex entities, the Activation Package Theory contributes to the idea of dot objects, proposing a psychological story about how we interpret copredicative sentences. I claim that the Activation Package Theory contributes to these semantic theories
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