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OverviewThis book aims to provide a solution to the semantic paradoxes. It argues for a unified solution to the paradoxes generated by our concepts of denotation, predicate extension, and truth. The solution makes two main claims. The first is that our semantic expressions 'denotes', 'extension' and 'true' are context-sensitive. The second, inspired by a brief, tantalizing remark of Gödel's, is that these expressions are significant everywhere except for certain singularities, in analogy with division by zero. A formal theory of singularities is presented and applied to a wide variety of versions of the definability paradoxes, Russell's paradox, and the Liar paradox. Keith Simmons argues that the singularity theory satisfies the following desiderata: it recognizes that the proper setting of the semantic paradoxes is natural language, not regimented formal languages; it minimizes any revision to our semantic concepts; it respects as far as possible Tarski's intuition that natural languages are universal; it responds adequately to the threat of revenge paradoxes; and it preserves classical logic and semantics. Simmons draws out the consequences of the singularity theory for deflationary views of our semantic concepts, and concludes that if we accept the singularity theory, we must reject deflationism. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Keith Simmons (Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Philosophy, University of Connecticut)Publisher: Oxford University Press Imprint: Oxford University Press Dimensions: Width: 16.40cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 24.10cm Weight: 0.562kg ISBN: 9780198791546ISBN 10: 0198791542 Pages: 260 Publication Date: 21 June 2018 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Manufactured on demand We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier. Table of ContentsReviewsSumming up: Recommended * CHOICE * Author InformationKeith Simmons is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, having previously been at the University of North Carolina from 1987 to 2014. He is author of Universality and the Liar (Cambridge 1993), and co-editor with Simon Blackburn of the volume on Truth in the series Oxford Readings in Philosophy (1999). Has written numerous articles in the philosophy and history of logic, philosophy of language, and Kant's ethics. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |