Note: consider Nextperson as a proper name; its description fixes its reference but does not give its meaning; i.e., contingent, a priori truth

Note

let 'Nextperson' be a proper name for the next person who goes through that door (if there is such a person). Still for any Nextperson, it is contingent whether or not he went through the door. So the definition of Nextperson is a contingent, a priori truth. A definite description can "fix the reference" but it does not "give the meaning", i.e., it is not synonymous with the name

Related Topics

Topic: proper names (35 items)
Topic: necessary truth (24 items)
Topic: denoting phrases and definite descriptions (21 items)