science

Non-rigid designator

Non-rigid designator is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Non-rigid designator rather than just read about it. In short: In the philosophy of language and modal logic, a term is said to be a non-rigid designator (or flaccid designator) or connotative term if it does not extensionally designate (denote, refer to) the same object in all possible worlds. This is in contrast to a rigid designator, which does designate the same object in all possible worlds in which that object exists, and does not designate anything else in those worlds i…

Key takeaways

Non-rigid designator belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Non-rigid designator to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Non-rigid designator from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In the philosophy of language and modal logic, a term is said to be a non-rigid designator (or flaccid designator) or connotative term if it does not extensionally designate (denote, refer to) the same object in all possible worlds. This is in contrast to a rigid designator, which does designate the same object in all possible worlds in which that object exists, and does not designate anything else in those worlds in which that object does not exist. The term was coined by Saul Kripke in his 1970 lecture series at Princeton University, later published as the book Naming and Necessity.

Examples As an example, consider the phrase "The 43rd President of the United States of America": while the 43rd President of the United States is actually George W. Bush, things might have been different. Bush might have lost the election, meaning that the 43rd President might have been Al Gore or Ralph Nader instead. (How remote these possible worlds are from the actual world is a discussion for physics and counterfactualism.) "The 43rd President of the United States of America" is thus a non-rigid designator, picking out George W. Bush in some possible worlds, Al Gore in others, and yet other people in other worlds. Non-rigid designators are defined by contrast with Kripke's notion of a rigid designator, which picks out the same thing uniquely in every possible world; while there are possible worlds in which the 43rd President of the United States is Al Gore instead of George W. Bush, there are no possible worlds where George W. Bush is anyone other than the man who, in fact, he is. (There are worlds where some person other than George W. Bush is named "George W. Bush," but that's neither here nor there.) Kripke uses this apparent asymmetry to argue (in Naming and Necessity) that no definite description can be the meaning of a proper name, because names must always be rigid designators, while definite descriptions can designate non-rigidly.

Criticism Some philosophers, such as Gareth Evans, have expressed doubt as to whether non-rigid expressions ought to be called designators at all.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Non-rigid designator

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Non-rigid designator claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Non-rigid designator before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Non-rigid designator ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Non-rigid designator

In research: Non-rigid designator appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Non-rigid designator in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Non-rigid designator is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Concepts in logic, Formal semantics (natural language), Names, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Non-rigid designator outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Non-rigid designator in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Non-rigid designator means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Non-rigid designator out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Non-rigid designator in simple terms?

Why does Non-rigid designator matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Non-rigid designator?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Non-rigid designator.