[lit-ideas] Grice on this and that

  • From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:18:17 -0400 (EDT)

R. Paul:

"Wittgenstein says, §410, '"I"  doesn't name a person, nor "here" a place,
and "this" is not a name, but they  are connected with names...'"



In a message dated 6/26/2012  4:00:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, 
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx  writes:
Unfortunately Robert's quotation is not given any commentary so that  we 
might be enlightened as to whether W means more than merely the  following:
'I' does not name a person: hence we do not say 'My name is I'  etc. 
'I' may refer to a person: e.g. 'I am a person not a machine, Mr.  Turing'.
If something more profound or interesting is afoot we should perhaps  be 
told. In particular, if W is denying that 'I' may refer to a person just as  
'there' may refer to a place (on the face of it W doesn't deny they may so  
refer).
Thus the Crow did not 'name the killer' so much as admit he was the  killer 
by referring to the killer as 'I'.  


-----
 
Mmm. 
 
It seems obvious that Witters is trying to make, er, again, a general  
point, by mixing (a mixed bag): "I", "here" and "this".
 
I think 'name' can be used vaguely enough so that "this" (Russell's  
favourite name for a sense-datum) becomes a name.

I did it in God's name -- sounds like a common phrase. Hence my "In  
Grice's name".
 
If I do something "in God's name" I don't necessarily need to know the  _
name_ of God (although I may implicate that I do know it). 
 
Now that while a "pro-noun" (like "I" or "me" for that matter) stands for a 
 "noun", like "soldier", it shares some nominal features with 'nouns' 
(names --  either 'proper' or 'common'). Note that if Witters meant:
 
"Pronouns are not nouns" he should have said it.
 
---
 
And so on.
 
Cheers,

Speranza
 
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