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Theory of Descriptions Essay It is a matter of fact that Russell significantly contributed the development of philosophical thinking by helping to resolve many philosophical problems. Furthermore, he offered theory of descriptions and analyzed logical structure of what people say. Theory of descriptions is the best application of the technique. Theory aims at denoting phrases in ordinary language and thus it has given rise to three sorts of difficulties: Excluded middle. It means that the traditional principle is violated by suggestions such as â€Å"either the present king of France is bald or the present king of France is not bald† Non-existence assertions. They aim at denoting phrases which have referents.Furthermore, they are saying of something, though this something doesn’t exist: â€Å"The golden mountain does not exist† Opaque Contexts. Equivalent expression can be substituted, but substitution doesn’t preserve the truth of the statement: â€Å"Alan believes that Sarahs father is Joys son† Russell emphasized that descriptions are differently signified and they don’t always suggest logically proper names. The referent is denoted directly and thus is carrying existential import, although the description is indirect denotation and has to be regarded differently. Russell suggested that denoting phrases can’t be isolated; otherwise they won’t be understood correctly. Quine eliminated the ontological implications of descritions. For example, he stated that Pegasus wasn’t actual, because it wasn’t spatiotemporal object. He admitted that though Pegasus existed in mythology, in the imagination of every child and in philosophical disputes, it was not actual as it wasn’t found in any zoo. Quine said â€Å"the notion that Pegasus must be, because it would otherwise be nonsense to say even that Pegasus is not, has been seen to lead McX into an elementary confusion†. References Russell: The Theory of Descriptions. Encyclopedia od Philosophy. Retrieved November 7, 2006, from http://philosophypages.com/ph/russ.html