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The Two Indexical Uses Theory Of Proper Names And Frege's Puzzle, Daniel S. Shabasson

Graduate Student Publications and Research

This paper is an earlier version of my 2017 dissertation, “The Two Indexical Uses Theory of Proper Names and Frege's Puzzle.” The final version can be found at https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2605/.

To solve Frege’s puzzle, I develop a novel theory of proper names, the “Two Indexical Uses Theory” of proper names (the “TIUT”), according to which proper names are used as indexicals. I distinguish two types of indexical uses: (1) ‘Millian’ uses on which a proper name merely refers (contributing its referent alone to the proposition expressed); and (2) ‘Conception-indicating’ uses on which a proper name both refers and conveys …