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Article published In: Pragmatics
Vol. 32:4 (2022) ► pp.518–536

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Shifting perspective on indexicals

ORCiD logo with link | New College of the Humanities
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.
Published online: 24 February 2022
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https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.21007.bow
Abstract
The debate over the meanings of indexical expressions has relied heavily on the method of counterexamples. This paper challenges that method by showing that purported counterexamples can often be explained away by appeal to perspective shifts. For these counterexamples to establish anything about indexical reference, we must identify the conditions under which theorists can legitimately appeal to perspective shifts. Some tests for semantic content are considered and it is argued that none of them can tell us when appeal to perspective shift is admissible. The paper then considers how we should proceed if we become convinced that there is no way to identify the content of indexical expressions, offering reasons in favour of a nihilist conception of character over an epistemicist or pluralist conception.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Kaplan’s semantics for indexicals
  • 3.Reference and perspective
  • 4.Identifying semantic content
  • 5.Nihilism, pluralism, and epistemicism
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (42)
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