Singular reference is the relation that a singular term has to a corresponding individual. For example, "Obama" singularly refer to the current US president. Descriptivism holds that all singular terms refer by means of a concept associated to the term. The current trend is against this. This book explains in detail (mainly for newcomers) why anti-descriptivism became dominant in spite of its weaknesses and (for experts) how these weaknesses can be overcome by appropriately reviving descriptivism.

Preface.- 1. Introduction: Referentialism versus Descriptivism.- 2. Background notions.- 3. Why descriptivism was so successful.- 4. Why Referentialism is so successful.- 5. Definite descriptions and proper names.- 6. Indexicals.- 7. Tense, temporal indexicals and other miscellaneous issues.- 8. Conclusion: accounting for the referentialist data.- Bibliography.- Appendix.- Analytical Index.