Are there objects that are "thin" in the sense that not very much is
required for their existence? Frege famously thought so. He claimed
that the equinumerosity of the knives and the forks suffices for there
to be objects such as the number of knives and the number of forks,
and for these objects to be identical. The idea of thin objects holds
great philosophical promise but has proved hard to explicate. Øystein
Linnebo aims to do so by drawing on some Fregean ideas. First, to be
an object is to be a possible referent of a singular term. Second,
singular reference can be achieved by providing a criterion of
identity for the would-be referent. The second idea enables a form of
easy reference and thus, via the first idea, also a form of easy
being. Paradox is avoided by imposing a predicativity restriction on
the criteria of identity. But the abstraction based on a criterion of
identity may result in an expanded domain. By iterating such
expansions, a powerful account of dynamic abstraction is developed.
The result is a distinctive approach to ontology. Abstract objects
such as numbers and sets are demystified and allowed to exist
alongside more familiar physical objects. And Linnebo also offers a
novel approach to set theory which takes seriously the idea that sets
are "formed" successively.
Les mer
An Abstractionist Account
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780192558961
Publisert
2020
Utgiver
Vendor
OUP Oxford
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter