Denying Existence: The Logic, Epistemology and Pragmatics of Negative Existentials and Fictional Discourse

ISBN-13: 9789048147885 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 260 str.

A. Chakrabarti

Opis

This book tries to explore, in language as non-technical as possible, the deepest philosophical problems regarding the logical status of empty (singular) terms such as Pegasus', Batman', The impossible staircase departs in Escher's painting Ascending-Descending'+ etc., and regarding sentences which deny the existence of singled-out fictional entities. It will be fascinating for literary theorists with a flair for logic, to students of metaphysics and philosophy of language, and for historians of philosophy interested in the fate of the Russell-Meinong debate. For teachers of these aspects of analytic philosophy this will provide a textbook which goes beyond the Western tradition (without plunging into any mystical Eastern Emptiness', which is what some previous comparative philosophers did!).

Spis treści

Introduction: The Puzzle of Singular Existence-Denials. 1. The Scaffolding for a Solution. 2. The Logical Form of Existence-Assertions. 3. Singular Death-Sentences. 4. An Enquiry into the Meaning and Truth of Fictional Discourse. 5. Deeper Troubles with Fiction: Reference, Emotion and Indeterminacy. 6. Appearing Unreals. 7. The Marvel of the Master Game. 8. Concluding Unsemantic Postscript. Appendix: The Problem of the Nonexistent in Indian Philosophy of Logic and Language.