Abstract In this article, we challenge Matushansky’s ( Linguistics and Philosophy, 21 , 573–627, 2008) small clause treatment of proper names in naming constructions. While she is widely credited with establishing, based on cross-linguistic evidence, that names should be viewed as predicates in naming constructions, we present a counterexample from Polish that questions the universal interpretation of the small clause hypothesis (SCH). This leads us to advocate for an alternative analysis of proper names in naming constructions, wherein they are considered components of the argument of a naming verb. We posit that this approach may have deflationist implications for predicativism concerning proper names, as it does not necessitate the existence of primitive name-predicates. We argue that there is no compelling positive evidence for the existence of predicative uses of names whose application conditions cannot be articulated using an equivalent phrase that quotes or mentions the name. Any apparent use of “Delia” as a predicate can be cast either (i) as not really a predicate, but rather an argument mentioning the name “Delia,” or (ii) as a genuine predicate, albeit one with an application condition defined by one of the well-established existing predicates, such as “individual called ‘Delia,’” where the name is mentioned. Predicative uses of names are thus dependent on the mention of names, and so there is a sense in which there are no primitive name-predicates.

Katarzyna Kijania-Placek

Olga Poller

Acta Analytica

Acta Analytica is an international journal for philosophy in the analytical tradition covering a variety of philosophical topics including philosophical logic, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science and philosophy of mind. Special attention is devoted to cognitive science. The journal aims to promote a rigorous, argument-based approach in philosophy. Acta Analytica is a peer reviewed journal, published quarterly, with authors from all over the world.

Acta Analytica is an international journal dedicated to philosophy in the analytical tradition, covering a wide range of topics including philosophical logic, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind. The journal places special emphasis on cognitive science and aims to promote a rigorous, argument-based approach in philosophy. Acta Analytica is a peer-reviewed journal published quarterly, featuring authors from around the globe.

《Acta Analytica》是一本国际性期刊，专注于分析传统哲学，涵盖哲学逻辑、形而上学、认识论、科学哲学和心灵哲学等多个主题。期刊特别关注认知科学，旨在推动哲学中基于严谨论证的方法。《Acta Analytica》是一本经过同行评审的期刊，季度出版，作者来自世界各地。

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Deflating Predicativism Against the Small Clause Hypothesis for Proper Names

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