Lexicon of Arguments

 

I 78
Relevance of theory-dependent properties (VsBundle Theory).
Bundle theory/(s): thesis: the bundle theory states that the meaning of names consists of a certain set of properties associated with a name, e.g. Moses. Then the meaning of the name Moses would be, among other things, "the one who led the people out of Egypt".
Kripke: so this means that some properties are more important than others. However, a theory must specify how this weighting is to proceed. All bundle theories are ill at times because they do not specify exactly what a sufficient number of properties must be met.
>Bundle theory/Kripke.
I 79
What are the relevant properties? If you say,"Moses did not exist", this can mean many things: it can mean: "the Israelites did not have a leader" or "their leader was not called Moses" or "there was no man who accomplished all this.
Kripke: the essential point is that we know a priori that Moses, if the biblical story is essentially wrong, did not exist. The biblical story does not indicate any necessary qualities of Moses, so he could have lived without accomplishing any of these things.
I 80
One could say "The Jonah of the Book never existed", as one could say "The Hitler of Nazi propaganda never existed". Existence is independent of representation.
>Properties/Kripke.