One thing we do with words is make assertions, as when I assert that snow is white. I use those words, but I can also talk about them, refer to them, mention them. You are all familiar with the use-mention distinction. 'Boston' is disyllabic, but no city is.
One way to mention an expression is by enclosing the words in single quotation marks, thus: 'Snow is white.' One can then go on to say things about that sentence, for example, that it is true, that it is in the indicative mood, that it consists of three words, that it is in the present tense, and so on. But a puzzle is soon upon us. Try this aporetic triad on for size:
1) No name is either true or false.
2) 'Snow is white' is the name of a sentence.
3) 'Snow is white' is true.
The propositions are individually plausible but collectively inconsistent: they cannot all be true. Which will you reject?
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