The metaphysics of puns

In this paper, I aim to discuss what puns, metaphysically, are. I argue that the type-token view of words leads to an indeterminacy problem when we consider puns. I then outline an alternative account of puns, based on recent nominalist views of words, that does not suffer from this indeterminacy.

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSynthese (Dordrecht) Vol. 203; no. 5; p. 130
Main Author Miller, JTM
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 18.04.2024
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Ambiguity
Education
Epistemology
Humor
Language
Linguistics
Logic
Metaphysics
Original Research
Philosophy
Philosophy of Language
Philosophy of Science
Rhetoric
Word play
Puns
Indeterminacy
Type-token
Nominalism
Words
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Summary:In this paper, I aim to discuss what puns, metaphysically, are. I argue that the type-token view of words leads to an indeterminacy problem when we consider puns. I then outline an alternative account of puns, based on recent nominalist views of words, that does not suffer from this indeterminacy.
ISSN:1573-0964
0039-7857
1573-0964
DOI:10.1007/s11229-024-04583-2