ABSTRACT
This chapter features thought experiments, discussion questions and further readings on Russell and definite descriptions. It seems reasonable to think that the primary function of names is to refer to, or stand for, particular objects. Now, at this point, we might be tempted to say that the contribution made by the name here is just that it expresses the sense of the name 'The present queen of France', and that we need not grasp what the name picks out, or stands for. Suppose we have two sentences: The present queen of England is bald, The present queen of France is bald. If two expressions have the same kind of grammatical function, we should give them the same semantic treatment. For one thing, it would make learning how to use names extraordinarily complex. Thus, what the problem of bearerless names may be taken to show is that names can't stand for objects.
