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

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 re...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Chakrabarti, Arindam
Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands, 1997.
Series:Synthese library ; 261.
Subjects:
Online Access:Connect to the full text of this electronic book
Description
Summary: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!).
Item Description:Electronic resource.
Physical Description:1 online resource (xi, 260 pages)
ISBN:9789401712231 (electronic bk.)
9401712239 (electronic bk.)