Identifying oneself as an element of the objective order : Nagel's question and Evans' response

Abstract

Frege leaves us with a task: to elucidate the fundamental character of the way in which we know which spatio-temporal particular is in question when we use the first person by formulating a semantic account of the first person. This investigation takes up this task, approaching it through the following question, Nagel’s question: is it possible for one to identify oneself as an element of the objective order? After thinking through the insights of Elizabeth Anscombe’s 'The First Person' and examining the collapse of Gareth Evans’ response to the question, the investigation draws on Sebastian Rödl’s 'Intentional Transaction' to answer Nagel’s question in the positive by formulating a semantic account of the first person and, as such, resolves its central task.