What is the meaning of a name like, say, 'Clark Kent'? We're tempted to say that it's whatever (or whomever) the name refers to, but clearly that's not quite right, not even for real things. Suppose Clark Kent really existed: would we mean the same thing by 'Clark Kent' as we do by 'Superman'? No, the semantics of names are much more complicated than that. This review of Michael Devitt's collection of essays is worth a read just to acquaint ourselves with the issues; in no circumstance would I recommend paying $185 for the collection of essays, though - a price that shows everything that's wrong with academic publishing today. There's lots of information about Devitt's philosophy online for free - use that, and let the academic publishers die.
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