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

Description

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!). Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction the Puzzle of Singular Existence-Denials....Pages 1-7 The Scaffolding for a Solution....Pages 9-31 The Logical form of Existence-Assertions....Pages 33-62 Singular Death-Sentences....Pages 63-79 An Enquiry into the Meaning and Truth of Fictional Discourse....Pages 81-109 Deeper Troubles with Fiction: Reference, Emotion and Indeterminacy....Pages 111-141 Appearing Unreals....Pages 143-170 The Marvel of the Master-Game....Pages 171-195 Concluding Unsemantic Postscript....Pages 197-209 Back Matter....Pages 211-260