Kaplan’s Theory of
Indexicals
Introduction to Pragmatics
Elizabeth Coppock
Fall 2010
Indexicals
Indexical: A word whose referent is dependent on the
context of use, which provides a rule which determines
the referent in terms of certain aspects of the context.
(Kaplan 1977, Demonstratives, p. 490)
Examples: I, my, you, that, this, here, now, tomorrow,
yesterday, actual, present
Demonstratives
Demonstrative: An indexical that requires an
associated demonstration.
Examples: this, that
Cf. Fillmore’s gestural uses of deictic terms.
Pure Indexical
Pure indexical: An indexical for which no demonstration
is required.
Example: I, now, here, tomorrow.
(Although here has a demonstrative use:
“In two weeks, I will be here [pointing]”)
Two obvious principles
1. The referent of a pure indexical depends on the
context, and the referent of a demonstrative depends
on the associated demonstration.
2. Indexicals, pure and demonstrative alike, are directly
referential.
Directly referential
An expression is directly referential if its referent, once
determined, is taken as fixed for all possible
circumstances.
(Like Kripke’s rigid designators)
 Proper names (John) are directly referential
 Definite descriptions (the man) are not
Said by me today (in the US):
“The president is a Democrat”
Alternative World 2
The actual world
Alternative World 1
true
true
false
Said by me today:
“The president is a Democrat”
Alternative World 5
Alternative World 3
Alternative World 4
true
false
true
Said by me today:
“Barack Obama is a Democrat”
Alternative World 2
The actual world
Alternative World 1
true
true
true
Said by me today:
“Barack Obama is a Democrat”
Alternative World 5
Alternative World 3
Alternative World 4
true
true
true
Said by Barack Obama today:
“I am a Democrat”
Alternative World 2
The actual world
Alternative World 1
true
true
true
Said by Barack Obama today:
“I am a Democrat”
Alternative World 5
Alternative World 3
Alternative World 4
true
true
true
Conclusion
 “Barack Obama” designates the same individual in
every possible world; it is directly referential.
 “The president” can designate different individuals in
different possible worlds.
 When Barack Obama says “I”, he means “Barack
Obama”. “I” is directly referential too.
(Complication)
There are so-called descriptive uses of indexicals.
Says a prisoner on death row (Nunberg):
I am traditionally allowed a last meal.
[“I” – a person on death row.]
But nevermind that. Ignore this slide.
Recall: Directly referential
An expression is directly referential if its referent, once
determined, is taken as fixed for all possible
circumstances.
Kaplan continues:
This does not mean it could not have been used to
designate a different object; in a different context, it
might have. But regardless of the circumstance of
evaluation, it picks out the same object.
Context vs. Circumstance
Context of utterance: Who is speaking to whom, where,
when, what they’re gesturing to, etc.
Circumstance of evaluation: A possible world at which
the truth of the utterance might be evaluated.
Alternative World 5
“I am a Democrat”
Actual World
Context:
Speaker=Obama: true
Context:
Speaker=Obama: true
Speaker=McCain: false
Speaker=McCain: true
Direct Reference
 The word “I”, uttered by Barack Obama (or whoever),
picks out the same individual in every possible world.
 You don’t have to look to see what properties the object
has in the world in order to decide what it refers to.
 Unlike definite descriptions, whose referent depends on
who is the president.
 The only thing that can affect what “I” refers to is who
the speaker is.
Indexicals and Descriptive Content
 Descriptions like “the president” and “a president” do
have descriptive content: they describe the discourse
referent as a president.
 Proper names have no descriptive content. (What’s in
a name?...)
 Do indexicals have descriptive content?
 Sure. “I” describes the referent as being the speaker.
 But “the descriptive meaning of a directly referential term
is no part of the propositional content” (p. 497)
Content vs. Character
Character: The aspect of meaning that two utterances of
the same sentence share across different contexts of
utterance.
Content: The proposition expressed by an utterance, with
the referents of all of the indexicals resolved.
Same or different meaning?
May 11, 2010:
I am turning 30
today.
May 12, 2010:
I am turning 30
today.
Same or different meaning?
May 11, 2010:
I am turning 30
today.
May 12, 2010:
I turned 30
yesterday.
Same character, different content
May 11, 2010:
I am turning 30
today.
May 12, 2010:
I am turning 30
today.
Same content, different character
May 11, 2010:
I am turning 30
today.
May 12, 2010:
I turned 30
yesterday.
Indexicals and Descriptive Content
“Indexicals have descriptive meaning, but this meaning
is relevant only to determining a referent in a context of
use and not to determining a relevant individual in a
circumstance of evaluation.”
I.e., the descriptive meaning is part of the character,
but not the content.
Imagine if it were otherwise!
Suppose “I do not exist” is true in a circumstance of
evaluation if and only if the speaker (assuming there is
one) of the circumstance does not exist in the
circumstance. Nonsense! If that were the correct
analysis, what I said could not be true. From which it
follows that:
It is impossible that I do not exist.
Impossibility
 Something that is possible is true in at least one
possible world.
 Something that is impossible is false at every possible
world.
 Something that is necessary is true at every possible
world.
Alternative World 8
The actual world
Alternative World 7
“I am here now”
 Kaplan calls this a logical truth meaning that
whenever it is uttered, it is true.
 But it is never a necessary truth because the
circumstances could be otherwise.