Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2020
Gareth Evans's two articles on the syntax and semantics of pronouns unfortunately seem to have been written far more with the desire of showing Peter Geach to have been wrong all along the line than in an endeavour to formulate, clearly and coherently, a comprehensive theory of his own. Some scattered passages of constructive theorizing there are, and in the latter part of this note I shall have something to say about them; but the controversial motive prevails.
It would be wearisome for me, and unrewarding for readers, if I were to work through Evans's arguments against me in detail: his misrepresentations of me are frequent and gross, and exposure of them in detail, together with restatement of the arguments misrepresented, would take up many more pages than the articles themselves. I here document just two of the more flagrant examples; with this warning before their eyes, readers may be disposed not to believe Evans's account of my works without checking for themselves.
1 “Pronouns, Quantifiers, and Relative Clauses (I)” and “Pronouns, Quantifiers, and Relative Clauses (II): Appendix”, Canadian Journal of Philosophy 7 (1977), pp. 467–536, 777-797. For convenience I speak of ‘the first article’ and ‘the second article’.