Generic and Weak Demonstratives: The Realm of Kinds

Abstract

In this paper we present a unified analysis of generic and weak interpretations of definite (DEF) and demonstrative (DEM) descriptions. In such contexts, the DEF only denotes the kind, whereas the DEM cannot denote the maximal node of a taxonomy. We claim that this contrast can be explained if we transpose Wolter’s (2006) semantics to the domain of kinds, a domain of taxonomies. The paper presents this proposal, which is also an argument against the direct referential treatment of demonstratives.