1 Philosophy of Language Notes on Wittgenstein, Kripke and the Nature of Truth Jason Zarri (Based on my notes and papers for a philosophy of language class taken in January 2008 at San Francisco State University) ~ Prelude ~ Why philosophers study language: 1) Philosophers have been accused of “making mistakes” based on language. Consider the sentences: i) “Santa Claus does not exist.” ii) “Santa Claus wears a red suit.” a) “How can one talk about something”, philosophers sometimes ask, “and say something true or false about it, if it isn’t real or doesn’t ‘have being’ in some sense? In order for statements like (i) or (ii) to be true, they have to be about something—Santa Claus, in this case. Granted, in light of the fact that (i) is true, San ta Claus doesn’t exist, but nevertheless he is some kind of being and has properties—including the properties of being non- existent and wearing a red suit .” However, at least since Bertrand Russell published his famous article “On Denoting” in 1905, most philosophers think that arguments like this are based on linguistic confusions. It can be true that Santa Claus does not exist without Santa Clause being real in any sense.