Robert Stecker

The semantics of fictional names

Abstract: In this paper we defend a direct reference theory of names. We maintain that the meaning of a name is its bearer. In the case of vacuous names, there is no bearer and they have no meaning. We develop a unified theory of names such that one theory applies to names whether they occur within or outside fiction. Hence, we apply our theory to sentences containing names within fiction, sentences about fiction or sentences making comparisons across fictions. We then defend our theory against objections and compare our view to the views of Currie, Walton, and others.

Expressiveness and Expression in Music and Poetry

The attempt to understand what it is for music to express, or be expressive of, emotion is long-standing, but also the object of several creative new approaches and a snow squall of recent work. It can be seen as part of several larger projects: the attempt to understand what expression is across the arts, and perhaps beyond the arts; the explication of the way the mind manifests itself in art; and the application of the philosophy of mind to the philosophy of art. In this paper, I will attempt to evaluate some of the more recent approaches to understanding expression in music in the light of their promise for these larger projects as well as their intrinsic plausibility. I will also suggest a new approach.

The Classical Vernacular: Architectural Principles in an Age of Nihilism

In this book, Roger Scruton looks at the work of 19th- and 20th-century architects and appraises their achievement and the values that inform it in relation to those of us who live in, or alongside, their structures.