How do names designate their bearers?

in #philosophy6 years ago

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As a philosopher in the making, i was taught the problem of language. This is a broad course in Philosophy but we focused more on some problems of language identified by scholars. Some which have been answered are often revisited by new scholars so as to see if the discourse can truly be closed.

One of the questions raised is: What makes something 'A' A and not B? If what we call certain things can be given different names, would it change anything? Would the thing in question stop being what it is called? Are these names unique that they can only be called the assigned thing? Who or what determines the name we call something 'A' and why is it binding that the people accept that that is its name?

Let's me try ask some questions so that we can have an idea of where i was coming from.

As kids, they started telling us what names certain things are called. People around us told us 'this is rice, fire, water, John, table, chair', etc,. They want us to know what the world call certain things and when those things are called, they expect us to understand that A is called and not B.

Now they never told us what is rice about rice, what is chair about chair or what is water about water. That is, is it the case that the names of these things are inherent in them such that by virtue of being that thing, it has that name irrespective of where (country).

If i choose to call rice 'roce' (for instance), will i be wrong to do that or would you say my 'roce' does not designate the matter (rice) which i am pointing at to you? If i train my children to call many things different names, would i be wrong to do so?

Perhaps you are thinking they wont communicate but have you also asked, if what you know as rice today is roce, what difference would it make? Will it make the material entity less rice or non rice?

What if car is not car but 'ironet'? There is nothing car about car because we cannot say it is car simply because it moves. Many things in reality move. Or is it car because it has four tyres? This is not also true. Or it is car because it is small? What is car about car that cannot be car to a tricycle?

What is so unique (if there is any) about these things we assign names for. If we call them different names, will it be 'less' the thing? 

Have you also asked these questions about pencil, pen, table and any other matter? What do you think?


Thanks for your time. Your boy @smyle the philosopher.

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The names will call things, are simply for communication purpose, nothing more than that.

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