Abstract

The dissertation explicates Ockham's theory of reference, and argues that the interrelationship between his theories of signification and supposition shows his signification theory to be constructed from his theory of personal supposition. Ockham's supposition theory is then contrasted with Walter Burleigh's supposition theory, and certain criticisms of Ockham's theory by Burleigh and others are discussed. ;Ockham's treatment of signification is examined and found to be constructed from his theory of personal supposition. Ockham's general semantic strategy is to divide signification into propositional and non-propositional senses of 'to signify', and then consider non-propositional senses of 'to signify' to be constructed from the propositional senses. His propositional senses are explicated in his theory of supposition, which takes as its semantic primitive notions the significative and non-significative occurrences of a term 'T' in a proposition. Significative occurrences of a term 'T' are called personally supposing terms, and non-significative occurrences are called either simply or materially supposing terms. The referents of the significative propositional occurrences of a term 'T', i.e. a personally supposing term, are presently existing actual world individuals, and the referents of non-significative propositional occurrences are seen to be certain oblique referents for terms. ;The resulting theories of signification and supposition do not ontologically commit Ockham to a non-real mode of existence for objects