ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a puzzle case for Stalnaker’s two-dimensionalist theory of assertion. It introduces the two-dimensionalist framework and discusses internalist and externalist versions of the framework. The chapter outlines Stalnaker’s pragmatic-externalist theory of assertion. It discusses a problem: the theory predicts the wrong truth value for some referential assertions. The chapter offers a diagnosis: the components of the pragmatic account which create the problem are ‘holism about context’ and the denial of a ‘reality principle’ about reference determination. It argues that the pragmatic account should have to be made compatible with a more thorough form of externalism. The referential content is a function from possible circumstances into truth values, or, equivalently, the set of possible circumstances at which the statement is true.
