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Putnam’s View on Reference Change Is Different from That of Kripke’s

Author(s): Luis Fernández Moreno / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2016

A usual objection put forward against the causal theory of reference is that it cannot explain the reference changes that terms may undergo. The main aim of this paper is to examine the position on reference change of one of the classic supporters of the causal theory, Hilary Putnam. It is usually claimed that Putnam’s causal theory of reference of natural kind terms is closely related to Kripke’s theory and can be conceived as a development of the same. The motivation of this paper is to allege that there is at least one important difference between both theories, consisting of their explanation of reference changes or at least in the way in which those theories make reference changes possible. After dealing with the problem of reference change within the framework of Kripke’s theory and reconstructing Kripke’s proposal to account for it, we will allege that there are components of Putnam’s theory which make reference changes possible, although they are different from those present in Kripke’s theory.

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The Reception of Stanisław Leśniewski’s Ontology in Arthur Prior’s Logic

Author(s): Zuzana Rybaříková / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2016

Arthur Prior’s logic was influenced, among others, by logicians from the Lvov-Warsaw school. This paper introduces the impact Leśniewski’s Ontology had on Prior’s logical system. The paper describes the main characteristics of Leśniewski’s Ontology, Prior’s logical system and the manner in which Prior became acquainted with Leśniewski’s logical system. Since Leśniewski was no longer alive when Prior began to develop his logical system and Leśniewski’s papers were not easily available to Prior, this paper also includes Prior’s interpretation of Leśniewski’s logical system which did not always correspond to Leśniewski’s original ideas.

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The Constitution Theory of Intention-Dependent Objects and the Problem of Ontological Relativism

Author(s): Mohammadreza Tahmasbi / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2016

According to Lynne Rudder Baker’s constitution theory, all artworks and artifacts are constituted intention-dependent (ID) objects which are irreducibly real and cannot be reduced to the collections of particles which make them up. The constitution theory of ID objects is based on Baker’s theory of practical realism according to which our everyday life-world is a resource for metaphysics. This paper will focus on the problem of ontological relativism entailed by the constitution theory of intentiondependent objects. I will argue, by way of an example, that the constitution theory of intention-dependent objects entails ontological relativism. That is because everyday life worlds vary from culture to culture. Finally, I examine if there is any possibility for the constitution theorist to avoid the problem of ontological relativism. I discuss Baker’s idea of a thin commonsense framework.

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An Argument for Authorial Creation

Author(s): Zsófia Zvolenszky / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

Artifactualism about fictional characters, positing Harry Potter as an abstract artifact created by J. K. Rowling, has been criticized on the grounds that the idea of creating such objects is mysterious and problematic. In the light of such qualms, it is worth homing in on an argument in favor of artifactualism, showing that it is the best way to include the likes of Harry Potter in our ontology precisely because it incorporates authorial creation. To that end, I will be exploring Kripke’s fleeting remarks in the Addenda to his “Naming and Necessity” lectures about expressions like ‘unicorn’ and ‘Harry Potter’. Elsewhere, Kripke motivates artifactualism by suggesting that incorporating authorial creation (as artifactualism does) is a move that is intuitive and natural; but beyond this, he doesn’t provide any arguments in favor of such a move. My purpose in this paper is to construct such an argument based on considerations about Kripke’s general view about proper names, in particular, his seminal causal-historical chain account of reference determination, and its consequences for fictional names as well as nonfictional names without bearers such as ‘Vulcan’.

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Quine and Quantified Modal Logic: Against the Received View

Author(s): Adam T. Tuboly / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

The textbook-like history of analytic philosophy is a history of myths, received views and dogmas. Though mainly the last few years have witnessed a huge amount of historical work that aimed to reconsider our narratives of the history of analytic philosophy there is still a lot to do. The present study is meant to present such a micro story which is still quite untouched by historians. According to the received view Kripke has defeated all the arguments of Quine against quantified modal logic and thus it became a respectful tool for philosophers. If we accept the historical interpretation of the network between Quine, Kripke and modal logic, which is to be presented here, we have to conclude that Quine’s real philosophical animadversions against the modalities are still on the table: though Kripke has provided some important (formallogical) answers, Quine’s animadversions are still viable and worthy of further consideration.

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Sense, Reference, Speech Acts, Norms and Other Issues. Replies to Organon F Papers (Part I)

Author(s): Petr Koťátko / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2015

If I found the first 2015 Supplementary Issue of Organon F in the library shelf, I would be struck by its strong assembly of authors: brilliant philosophers and at the same time people whom I have had the pleasure and honour of personally knowing for quite a long time. But I have been presented the volume on an occasion which made it clear that it is somehow (rather intimately) connected with me – despite my repeated pleading not to be reminded about my (regrettable) anniversary.

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Subjective Theories of Personal Identity and Practical Concerns

Author(s): Radim Bělohrad / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2015

This paper focuses on three theories of personal identity that incorporate the idea that personal identity is the result of a person’s adopting certain attitudes towards certain mental states and actions. I call these theories subjective theories of personal identity. I argue that it is not clear what the proponents of these theories mean by “personal identity”. On standard theories, such as animalism or psychological theories, the term “personal identity” refers to the numerical identity of persons and its analysis provides the persistence conditions for persons. I argue that if the subjective theories purport to provide a criterion of numerical personal identity, they fail. A different interpretation may suggest that they purport to provide a non-numerical type of identity for the purpose of providing plausible analyses of certain identity-related practical concerns. I argue that the criteria the subjective theories provide fail to capture several of the identity-related concerns. As a result, this interpretation must be rejected as well.

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The Semantics of Empirical Unverifiability

Author(s): Igor Sedlár / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2015

Pavel Cmorej has argued that the existence of unverifiable and unfalsifiable empirical propositions follows from certain plausible assumptions concerning the notions of possibility and verification. Cmorej proves, it the context of a bi-modal alethic-epistemic axiom system AM4, that (1) 𝑝𝑝 and it is not verified that 𝑝𝑝 is unverifiable; (2) 𝑝𝑝 or it is falsified that 𝑝𝑝 is unfalsifiable; (3) every unverifiable 𝑝𝑝 is logically equivalent to 𝑝𝑝 and it is not verifiable that 𝑝𝑝; (4) every unverifiable 𝑝𝑝 entails that 𝑝𝑝 is unverifiable. This article elaborates on Cmorej’s results in three ways. Firstly, we formulate a version of neighbourhood semantics for AM4 and prove completeness. This allows us to replace Cmorej’s axiomatic derivations with simple model-theoretic arguments. Secondly, we link Cmorej’s results to two well-known paradoxes, namely Moore’s Paradox and the Knowability Paradox. Thirdly, we generalise Cmorej’s results, show them to be independent of each other and argue that results (3) and (4) are independent of any assumptions concerning the notion of verification.

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The Minimalistic Definition of Conventions: One Step beyond Millikan’s Approach

Author(s): Vojtěch Zachník / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2015

The study proposes a new approach towards a social phenomenon called convention and submits a minimalistic definition of convention, which provides a promising basis for future analysis unburdened by contra-Lewisian objections. The definition itself, based on the insights of Ruth Millikan in the study Language Conventions Made Simple, represents a simple and efficient means of delimiting essential components of conventional behaviour (stripped of most of the controversial issues from previous debates on Lewis’s notion) solely by means of the role of precedent and its ability to reproduce. Yet, it is argued that a few additional conditions are required for a valid and distinct notion of conventionality: namely, the inclusion of a coordination aspect and an extension of the concept of precedent. The final version of the definition, thereafter, meets intuitive requirements of conventionality (e.g., arbitrariness) and has the generality to embrace different types of conventions.

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Logika verzus jazykoveda o vetných spojkách

Author(s): František Gahér / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 3/2015

The author proposes bridging disparate explications of sentential connectives (operators). Logicians take sentential operators to denote truth functions and distinguish 16 such binary operators. On the other hand, linguists recognize much more sentential operators and, even for the same truth function, distinguish several connectives with different properties. For example, the conjunction “and” can in some uses have an adversative or conditional or restrictive feature, and sometimes has a temporal or causal meaning. The author favors logico-semantic tools over pragmatic ones and proposes distinguishing operators as truth-functions from complex constructions of truth-functions. The same truth function can be constructed in different ways, which enables one to explain the different properties of a single connective discussed by linguists. The author proposes two conditional connectives – namely one for the necessary conditional relations and another for the sufficient conditional relation – the negation and the logical conjunction as the basic operators. Using these simple connectives, he defines constructions of other sentential operators and demonstrates their various properties.

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K analýze deontických modalít v Transparentnej intenzionálnej logike

Author(s): Daniela Glavaničová / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 2/2015

The aim of this paper is to outline a suitable analysis of certain deontic modalities. To avoid confusion as much as possible, I specify the subject-matter of my analysis explicitly. Subsequently, the paper argues that Transparent Intensional Logic (TIL) is an appropriate framework for developing deontic logic. The main contribution of the paper consists in a proposal concerning the analysis of deontic modalities in TIL as well as in offering a semantically based distinction between implicit and explicit deontic modalities. Finally, I introduce some definitions along with some inferential rules and show (using Ross’ paradox) how it is possible to deal with the paradoxes of deontic logic in terms of my analysis.

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Příklady a pravidla při osvojování dovednosti

Author(s): Ondřej Beran / Language(s): Czech Issue: 1/2015

Wittgenstein describes the process of mastering a rule (adopting a skill) as implanting mechanically a number of specific examples (steps) after which one “knows how to go on”. Such a two-step concept of learning (e.g. in Cavell) can be understood as the sequence of i) propedeutics limited in time and ii) the subsequent skill to extrapolate the rule in unlimited number of cases (Chomsky’s account of rule). The relationship between the “propedeutics of examples” and the mastered skill is, however, more complex. I will refer here to the Wittgensteinian ethics (e.g., Winch) emphasizing the individual’s repeated work (reflection) on specific examples which never ends. I will also point to the empirical evidence (Ingold, in particular) that in the processes of learning an essential role is played by memorizing and copying of given (specific) models, where attention and observation is necessary. Competence is then a physical implantation and individual mastering of such a limited technique, rather than an ability to extrapolate and innovate foremost.

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Everything for Nothing

Author(s): Marco Simionato / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2014

In this paper I argue that the acceptance of an absolutely unrestricted quantification implies the existence of an absolutely empty possible world. This result could be relevant because David Lewis both admits an absolutely unrestricted quantification (for example in Parts of Classes) and rejects the existence of an absolutely empty possible world (in On the Plurality of Worlds). In order to vindicate my thesis, I propose two strategies. The first is based on the assumption that the phrase ‘nothing’ cannot be always reduced to a quantifier phrase, as Graham Priest and Alex Oliver with Timothy Smiley have argued. This strategy consists in a paraphrase of the notion of everything that constrains us to admit an empty possible world. The second strategy mainly consists in the use of an “idealistic” principle (say «every determination is negation») and its consequences.

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Tichý’s Possible Worlds

Author(s): Jiří Raclavský / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2014

Pavel Tichý originally published his interesting conception of possible worlds in 1968. Even though he modified it over the following twenty five years, its core remained unchanged. None of his thirty journal papers or books containing the notion of possible worlds was a study in metaphysics. Tichý (and most of his followers) always introduced the notion in the context of other investigations where he applied his Transparent intensional logic either to the semantic analysis of natural language or to the explications of other notions. Tichý presented his conceptions using rather short descriptions occurring on a number of places; his proposal appears not only fragmentary but also somehow incoherent. The main contribution of this paper is thus not only a complete survey of Tichý’s development of his conception but also a certain completion of the very proposal.

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Záměr Wittgensteinova Traktátu (2): Korespondence

Author(s): Petr Glombíček / Language(s): Czech Issue: 4/2014

The article presents a second part of an interpretation of the intention of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus. The intention itself used to be considered a rather marginal topic until so called new-Wittgenteinian interpretations. The present article considers main sources to show what kind of content we can ascribe to the book. Its aim is to prove that Tractatus is not purely practical exercise, however, without stripping the book of its therapeutic side. This second part continues with interpretation of Wittgenstein’s correspondence with Russell, Frege, Ficker and comes to the conclusion for both parts considering mutual relation of all the sources.

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Quantificational Accounts of Logical Consequence II: In the Footsteps of Bolzano

Author(s): Ladislav Koreň / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2014

Quantificational accounts of logical consequence account for it in terms of truth-preservation in all cases – be it admissible substitutional variants or interpretations with respect to non-logical terms. In this second of my three connected studies devoted to the quantificational tradition I set out to reconstruct the seminal contributions of Russell, Carnap, Tarski and Quine and evaluate them vis-à-vis some of the most pressing objections. This study also prepares the ground for my discussion of the standard model-theoretic account of consequence to be found in the concluding study.

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The Exploding ‘Ought’

Author(s): David Botting / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2014

In this paper I wish to discuss so-called principles of inheritance and the familiar claim that it leads to deontic paradoxes. By combining two such paradoxes it will be shown that inheritance amounts to a principle of explosion: supposing that in the actual world there is at least one thing that one ought to do, almost anything is something one ought to do. I will then attempt to qualify the principle of inheritance so as to avoid this and other paradoxical results.

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Záměr Wittgensteinova Traktátu (1): Předmluva a motto

Author(s): Petr Glombíček / Language(s): Czech Issue: 3/2014

The article presents a first part of an interpretation of the intention of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus. The intention itself used to be considered a rather marginal topic until so called new-Wittgensteinian interpretations. The present article considers main sources to show what kind of content we can ascribe to the book. Its aim is to prove that Tractatus is not purely practical exercise, however without stripping the book of its therapeutic side. The first part considers the preface and the motto of the book.

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Externalizmus, skepticizmus a zdôvodnenie: Odpovede M. Pichovi a M. Taligovi

Author(s): Martin Nuhlíček / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 3/2014

V tomto texte sa pokúsim odpovedať M. Pichovi a M. Taligovi, ktorých články Picha (2013) a Taliga (2013b) boli reakciami – vo viacerých ohľadoch kritickými – na moju stať Prečo externalistické kritériá zdôvodnenia principiálne zlyhávajú? (pozri Nuhlíček 2013b). Obidvom autorom ďakujem za ich podnetné odpovede, ktorými ma primäli znovu premyslieť niektoré otázky týkajúce sa epistemického zdôvodnenia, ako aj skepticizmu. Vďaka nim sa odhalilo niekoľko miest v mojej argumentácii, ktoré sa môžu javiť z vecného hľadiska ako problematické, prípadne môžu vyvolávať riziko nesprávneho pochopenia kvôli formulačnej ťažkopádnosti.

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Constructional vs. Denotational Conception of Aboutness

Author(s): Jiří Raclavský / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2014

Following Carnap’s Principle of Subject Matter, Pavel Tichý proposed a methodological principle I call the “Denotational Principle of Aboutness”. It says that expressions are about their denotata. Denotata are modelled as possible world intensions or (common) extensions. Nearly the same principle was recently defended by Marie Duží and Pavel Materna under the name the “Parmenides Principle”. However, Duží and Materna did not react to Tichý’s late proposal which I call the “Constructional Principle of Aboutness”. It says that the subject matter of expressions consists not in their denotata but in their meanings. The meanings are explicated by Tichý, and also by Duží and Materna, as so-called constructions; constructions are complex entities akin to algorithms, they construct intensions or extensions. In this paper, I argue in favour of the Constructional Principle of Aboutness. I show that there are not only single arguments, but the whole net of methodological principles which support it. This is why the topic largely transcends the debate among Tichý’s followers.

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