The Grice Dossier

Dossier is a _bad_ word, used for _criminals_. Or rather by meta-criminals.

But Grice used it in "Vacuous Names" and I found it charming.

Actually "Vacuous Names" is mis-titled. It covers 'Descriptions' just as well, and the MIT compilation, "Definite Descriptions" manages to reproduce, illy, the relevant section.

For Grice, a definite descriptor, i.e.

'the'

followed by something else

is associated with a 'dossier'.

E.g.

the current president of the USA.

Surely there is a dossier for him.

Oddly, Grice kept changing his dossiers.

In his dossier for

'the current prime minister of UK'

he has crossed in and crossed out Wilson and Heath, Chapman reports.

For Grice, dossiers are important. Not so much for what they are, but for what they mean. This connects with Urmson, Criteria of Intensionality.

If I know that all you know about Einstein is that he was 'that untidy old geek at Princeton' I may use that fiche in my Dossier for Einstein. Whereas Pentcho may prefer a more charismatic descript of the German genius.

Etc. This is my marginal comment vis a vis Chapman p. 118 -- where she fails to cite G. E. J. Evans -- the only OTHER philosopher -- than Gric or I (sic) -- who cared to mention the dossiers!