Walter Burley on Co-Signification in Opaque Contexts

Abstract

Foreshadowing in many ways theories of direct reference popular today, Walter Burley (died c. 1345) favors a theory of direct signification, according to which names directly signify things in the world. But he recognizes that opaque contexts, such as propositional attitude reports, represent a challenge to that theory. In response, Burley develops a sophisticated account of our noetic states, one according to which those states can be individuated more finely than in terms of their contents. Paired with a certain semantic analysis of propositional attitude reports, that account of our noetic states is ready-made to accommodate Burley’s commitment to direct signification even in the face of opacity considerations.