Rigid Designators and Disguised Descriptions
Monte Cook · Canadian Journal of Philosophy Supplementary Volume · 1980
In “Naming and Necessity” Saul Kripke repeatedly uses modal arguments to show that proper names are not abbreviated or disguised descriptions. The arguments take the following form: (a) “The F might not have been the F” is false. (b) If N were used to mean the F, then “N might not have been the F” would be false (because of (a)). (c) But “N might not have been the F” is true. (d) Therefore, N is not used to mean the F.