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Measurement Theoretic Semantics And The Semantics Of Necessity

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Abstract

In the first two sections I present and motivate a formal semantics program that is modeled after the application of numbers in measurement (e.g., of length). Then, in the main part of the paper, I use the suggested framework to give an account of the semantics of necessity and possibility: (i) I show thatthe measurement theoretic framework is consistent with a robust (non-Quinean) view of modal logic, (ii) I give an account of the semantics of the modal notions within this framework, and (iii) I defend the suggested account against various objections.

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Dresner, E. Measurement Theoretic Semantics And The Semantics Of Necessity. Synthese 130, 413–440 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014815703989

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