Strictly Speaking

this year it’s Max

I’ve been reading On Direct Reference which is an article by Harry Deutsch in Themes from Kaplan. Besides being notable for featuring my friend Max prominently in the examples (along with Cassius Clay/Mohammed Ali), the article has been making me think about naming and possible worlds. On Deutsch’s interpretation of Kaplan, before a naming event takes place, say in 1969 before Max was born, then the unassigned name Max denotes nothing “in all possible circumstances” (including possible worlds in the future, such as 2005) but once that dubbing occurs, then the name denotes in all possible worlds. So in 2005, it is correct to say that ‘Max’ denotes Max in 1969 and in 2005. But in 1969, ‘Max’ did not denote anything either in 1969 or in 2005. It is just too bad that the War On Drugs was so successful because it might have really helped if I… oh never mind.