An intensional version of existential disclosure
In Dynamic Semantics, Existential Disclosure (ED) allows us
to address an indefinite as though it denotes a property. Current definitions
of this operation entail that ED will not yield the intended result in opaque
contexts, as intensional expressions create inaccessible domains for
dynamic anaphora. Focusing primarily on Propositional Attitude Verbs (PAVs), we
will show that this makes the wrong prediction for most PAVs. We will then
argue that this situation can be improved upon i) by assuming an intensional
version of ED which involves as Discourse Marker for Context Change Potentials
(CCPs), and ii) by assuming that non-factive PAVs introduce the CCP denoted by
their complement clause as a discourse referent. Factive PAVs on the other hand
presuppose that the proposition expressed by their complement clause is part of
the common ground. Therefore, an intensional version of ED will not help for
these PAVs, as desired.
Martin Honcoop