ABSTRACT
In a further argument against description theories of proper names, Kripke appealed to the notion of a “possible world” or universe alternative to our own. A definite description of Russell’s sort changes its referent from world to world; although “the world’s fastest woman in 1998” actually refers to Marion Jones, it designates different individuals in other worlds, since Jones might have been slower (or not even have existed) and other women might have been better runners. But typically, a proper name such as “Marion Jones” refers to the very same individual in every world in which that individual exists.
