Law Commons^™

De Re And De Dicto, Robert E. Rodes

Journal Articles

Statements involving knowledge, intent, and the like may often be interpreted either de re (about a thing) or de dicto (about a statement). For instance, A knowingly took B's car can mean either A knowingly took a car that turned out to be B's, the de re interpretation, or A knowingly caused it to be the case that he took B's car, the de dicto interpretation. This paper takes up twelve cases whose outcome depends on which interpretation one gives to a governing principle. It suggests that since the two alternative interpretations are equally supported by the applicable language policy …