Leibniz and the Sorites
The Leibniz Review 12:25-49 (2002)
| Abstract | The sorites paradox receives its most sophisticated early modem discussion in Leibniz’s writings. In an important early document Leibniz holds that vague terms have sharp boundaries of application, but soon thereafter he comes to adopt a form of nihilism aboutvagueness: and it later proves to be his settled view that vagueness results from semantical indeterminacy. The reason for this change of mind is unclear, and Leibniz does not appear to have any grounds for it. I suggest that his various treatments of the sorites do notspring from a single integrated view of vagueness, and that his early position reflects a mercenary interest in the sorites paradox---an interest to use the sorites to reach a conclusion in metaphysics rather than to examine vagueness as a subject to be understood in itsown right. The later nihilist stance reflects Leibniz’s own (if undefended) attitude towards vagueness | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,672 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesMark Colyvan (2010). A Topological Sorites. Journal of Philosophy 107 (6):311-325.
Ofra Magidor (2012). Strict Finitism and the Happy Sorites. Journal of Philosophical Logic 41 (2):471-491.
Matti Eklund (2006). Schiffer on Vagueness. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 87 (1):12–23.
Elia Zardini (2013). Higher-Order Sorites Paradox. Journal of Philosophical Logic 42 (1):25-48.
Susanne Bobzien (2002). Chrysippus and the Epistemic Theory of Vagueness. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 102 (1):217-238.
Richard DeWitt (1992). Remarks on the Current Status of the Sorites Paradox. Journal of Philosophical Research 17 (1):93.
Otávio Bueno & Mark Colyvan (2012). Just What is Vagueness? Ratio 25 (1):19-33.
Bert Baumgaertner (2012). Vagueness Intuitions and the Mobility of Cognitive Sortals. Minds and Machines 22 (3):213-234.
Rosanna Keefe (2007). Vagueness Without Context Change. Mind 116 (462):275-292.
Eugene O. Mills (2002). Fallibility and the Phenomenal Sorites. Noûs 36 (3):384-407.
Andreas Blank (2004). Definitions, Sorites Arguments, and Leibniz's Méditation Sur la Notion Commune de la Justice. The Leibniz Review 14:153-166.
Howard Robinson (2009). Vagueness, Realism, Language and Thought. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 109 (1pt1):83-101.
Jason Stanley (2003). Context, Interest Relativity and the Sorites. Analysis 63 (4):269–281.
Mark Sainsbury (1992). Sorites Paradoxes and the Transition Question. Philosophical Papers 21 (3):177-190.
Bart Van Kerkhove & Guido Vanackere (2003). Vagueness-Adaptive Logic: A Pragmatical Approach to Sorites Paradoxes. Studia Logica 75 (3):383-411.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2012-03-18Total downloads9 ( #114,014 of 549,066 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #37,252 of 549,066 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
