Abstract

This chapter examines Alfred MacKay's views on definite descriptions and his reference to Humpty Dumpty's theory of meaning. Humpty Dumpty believes himself to be master of the meaning of his words, implying that if he intends a word to mean such, then it will mean that when he uses it. The principle that MacKay draws from Humpty Dumpty's conversation with Alice is that the rules of one's language dictate the meaning of one's words, and intentions are powerless to intervene. MacKay also uses the notion of “what the speaker is talking about” that is extensional and allows for the possibility that what the speaker is talking about is an entity that fails to fit the description he used, which he calls “near misses”.