Note 27 — Chapter II

The value of the above distinction may be illustrated by reference to the divergence of view indicated in the following quotation from Mr Monck, who uses the terms denotation and extension as synonymous: “It is a matter of accident whether a general name will have any extension (or denotation) or not. Unicorn, griffin, and dragon are general names because they have a meaning, and we can suppose another world in which such beings exist; but the terms have no extension, because there are no such animals in this world. Some logicians speak of these terms as having an extension, because we can suppose individuals corresponding to them. In this way every general term would have an extension which might be either real or imaginary. It is, however, more convenient to use the word extension for a real extension (past, present, or future) only” (Introduction to Logic, p. 10). It should be added, in order to prevent possible misapprehension, that by universe of discourse, as used in the text, we do not necessarily mean the material universe; we may, for example, mean the universe of fairy-land, or of heraldry, and in such a case, unicorn, griffin, and dragon may have denotation (in our special sense), as well as subjective extension, greater than zero. What is the particular universe of reference in any given proposition will generally be determined by the context. For logical purposes we may assume that it is conventionally understood and agreed upon, and that it remains the same throughout the course of any given argument. As Dr Venn remarks, “We might include amongst the assumptions of logic that the speaker and hearer should be in agreement, not only as to the meaning of the words they use, but also as to the conventional limitations under which they apply them in the circumstances of the case” (Empirical Logic, p. 180).