First - order logic and some existential sentences

• Autores: Stephen K. McLeod
• Localización: Disputatio, ISSN-e 0873-626X, Vol. 4, Nº. 31, 2011, págs. 255-270
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • 'Quantified pure existentials' are sentences (e.g., 'Some things do not exist') which meet these conditions: (i) the verb EXIST is contained in, and is, apart from quantificational BE, the only full (as against auxiliary) verb in the sentence; (ii) no (other) logical predicate features in the sentence;

    (iii) no name or other sub-sentential referring expression features in the sentence; (iv) the sentence contains a quantifier that is not an occurrence of EXIST. Colin McGinn and Rod Girle have alleged that standard first-order logic cannot adequately deal with some such existentials.

    The article defends the view that it can.