ON THE DENOTATION OF COMMON NOUNS

This article proposes an account within a framework of logical semantics of aspects associated with the denotation of descriptive and non-descriptive common nouns. The first three sections address theoretical notions (meaning, possible worlds, transworld identity), while the following sections go on to discuss the semantics of common nouns. Unlike proper names, which are singular terms, common nouns are general terms that have internal structure. They can designate rigidly, as is the case with non-descriptive terms denoting natural kinds, natural phenomena, and colors, or non-rigidly, in the case of descriptive common nouns, which pick out different entities in different worlds.