Plato's Beard

[Pinball1970]

That's fine. There are many beliefs about things that don't exist. Believing they exist doesn't suddenly make those beliefs meaningful. That's why they cease to be called beliefs and instead are called delusions.

Lots of made up stuff, the Koran, Bible and other fiction. Also balrogs, elves, ents and evil spirits like Sauron.
These exist in books and films and in the stories in the minds of people.

 

[James R]

Anyone wishing to argue for continuity in science requires an account that holds reference fixed even as meanings of terms like atom change.

Consider another example very similar to "the Morning Star": the Sun.

In previous ages, people used the term "the Sun" to refer to the big bright thing they saw in the daytime sky. At some stage, people started referring to "the Sun" as the big ball of fire in the sky. A little later on, it was recognised that the Sun isn't actually in the sky, as such. And then, even later, it was recognised that the Sun isn't a big ball of fire.

Is it your contention that nobody was actually referring to anything when they used the words "the Sun", for literally eons?

When did the Sun become a thing to why people can actually refer? Or hasn't it done that, even now?