Confusion is corruptive belief in false identity |
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Authors: | Elmar Unnsteinsson |
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Institution: | 1. School of Philosophy, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.elmar.geir@gmail.com |
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Abstract: | Speakers are confused about identity if they mistake one thing for two or two things for one. I present two plausible models of confusion, the Frege model and the Millikan model. I show how a prominent objection to Fregean models fails and argue that confusion consists in having false implicit beliefs involving the identity relation. Further, I argue that confused identity has characteristic corruptive effects on singular cognition and on the proper function of singular terms in linguistic communication. |
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Keywords: | Reference confusion identity Millikan Grice Frege puzzle implicit belief |
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