Names: (Direct) Designators of Objects. Semantic aspects in Aristotle, Metaphysics Z, 6, 1031 b 28-1032 a 11

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the interpretations of Aristotelian semantics that have been proposed, by means of the analysis of a passage of Metaphysics, book Z, in which I think that clearly emerges, even though the general context is a dialectical one, that the Stagirite makes a remarkable semantic assumption. I suggest that the argument that Aristotle constructs is valid if and only if we admit that (i) Every name directly refers to an object, not to the description of the object.