Forty Years Later: Naming Without Necessity, Necessity Without Naming

Abstract

The essay examines the proper treament of (i) naming (ii) necessity. (A) It argues their mutual independence (B) provides a treatment of naming separately from any idea of "designation" (C) gives treatment of de re modality without any use of possible worlds, essences, concepts, rigid designators (D) it argues an ultimate asymmetry-naming/referring is a key real notion of semantics; necessity should not be the central idea in the metaphysics of nature.