Grice, Strawson and Linsky ON REFERRING

Speranza

In the final paragraph to "Presupposition and conversational implicature" (in WoW -- Way of Words), Grice notes that it would perhaps be better to start anew and reconsider the issues at hand. This would mean, notably, a change of approach in dealing with the operator "the" (a structural device that he equates with the 'iota' operator' of the logicians). And right he is, too.

That new approach is only suggested by Grice, but obviously he is linking his thoughts to his "Vacuous Names".

For the alternative approach to "the" would start by taking seriously the idea that "the" is a "referential expression".

Grice was indebted, in part, to his pupil Strawson.

Strawson considers:

"The king of France is not bald" IMPLIES there is a king of France.

Grice will CORRECT: "IMPLICATES".

Note that while Strawson did use "imply" (naturally enough) in "On referring", he, rather confusingly, to some, preferred the 'term of art', "presupposes" in later writing.

This was one of Linsky's big pre-occupations, if we may call them thus, and occupations, too. Vide his seminal "Referring".