Reference and Representation in Thought and Language

This volume offers novel views on the precise relation between reference to an object by means of a linguistic expression and our mental representation of that object, long a source of debate in the philosophy of language, linguistics, and cognitive science. Chapters in this volume deal with our devices for singular reference and singular representation, with most focusing on linguistic expressions that are used to refer to particular objects, persons, or places. These expressions include proper names such as Mary and John; indexicals such as I and tomorrow; demonstrative pronouns such as this and that; and some definite and indefinite descriptions such as The Queen of England or a medical doctor. Other chapters examine the ways we represent objects in thought, particularly the first-person perspective and the self, and one explores a notion common to reference and representation: salience. The volume includes the latest views on these complex topics from some of the most prominent authors in the field and will be of interest to anyone working on issues of reference and representation in thought and language.

Maria de Ponte is an assistant professor at the University of Seville. She has previously held positions at the University of the Basque Country and at Brown University. She works on the philosophy of language, logic, and time, and her work has been published in journals such as Logique et Analyse, Journal of Pragmatics, and Research and Language, as well as in a number of edited volumes.

Kepa Korta is Professor of Philosophy at the University of the Basque Country and a researcher at the Institute for Logic, Cognition, Language and Information (ILCLI). He is the author, with John Perry, of the book Critical Pragmatics: An Inquiry into Reference and Communication (2011) and his work has appeared in Mind and Language, Synthese, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, and various edited collections.