Direct address theory
A direct reference theory also called referentialism or referential realism is the theory of language that claims that a meaning of a word or expression lies in what it points out in the world. The thing denoted by a word is called its referent. Criticisms of this position are often associated with Ludwig Wittgenstein.
In the 19th century, mathematician & philosopher Gottlob Frege argued against it, in addition to contrasted it with mediated reference theory. In 1953, with his Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein argued against referentialism, famously saying that "the meaning of a word is its use." Direct reference opinion is a position typically associated with logical positivism and analytical philosophy. Logical positivist philosophers in particular earn significantly devoted their efforts in countering positions of the like of Wittgenstein's, and they aim at devloping a "perfectly descriptive language" purified from ambiguities and confusions.