ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author discusses concept of reference and tries to clarify what reference consists in, this question will interest us only to the extent in which it helps either to allay qualms about some kinds of reference or demonstrate the parallel between singular and plural reference. A term used in a sentence refers to an object, it is maintained, if it contributes the object to the content of the sentence. Other popular explanations are roughly of the following form: a term used in a sentence refers to an object if it makes the object relevant to the truth-value of the sentence. The meaning of sentences and words is ultimately derived, according to Quine, from the meaning of what he called observation sentences, whose meaning is ultimately their stimulus meaning. Quine was correct, however, in his attempt to explain reference by focusing on the use of words.
