Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

What Vagueness Consists In

  • Published:
Philosophical Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The main question of the paper is that ofwhat vagueness consists in. This question must be distinguished from other questions about vagueness discussed in the literature. It is argued that familiar accounts of vagueness for general reasons failto answer the question ofwhat vagueness consists in. A positive view is defended, according to which, roughly, the vagueness of an expression consists in it being part ofsemantic competence to accept a tolerance principle for the expression. Since tolerance principles are inconsistent, this is an inconsistency view on vagueness.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • R. Campbell (1974) ArticleTitle‘The Sorites Paradox’ Philosophical Studies 26 175–191 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00398877

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M. Eklund (2002) ArticleTitle‘Inconsistent Languages’ Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 64 251–275

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Eklund (2002a) ArticleTitle‘Personal Identity and Conceptual Incoherence’ Noûs 36 465–485

    Google Scholar 

  • H. Field (1973) ArticleTitle‘Theory Change and the Indeterminacyof Reference’ Journal of Philosophy 70 462–481

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Fine (1975) ArticleTitle‘Vagueness, Truthand Logic’ Synthèse 30 265–300 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00485047

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Graff (2000) ArticleTitle‘Shifting Sands: An Interest-Relative Theory of Vagueness’ Philosophical Topics 28 45–81

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Greenough (2003) ArticleTitle‘Vagueness: A Minimal Theory’ Mind 112 235–281 Occurrence Handle10.1093/mind/112.446.235 Occurrence HandleMR1980525

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • R. Keefe (2000) Theories of Vagueness Cambridge University Press Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Lewis (1970) ArticleTitle‘How to Define Theoretical Terms’ Journal of Philosophy 67 427–446

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Lewis (1972) ArticleTitle‘Psychophysical and Theoretical Identifications’ Australasian Journal of Philosophy 50 249–258

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Lewis (1986) On the Plurality of Worlds Basil Blackwell Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Lewis (1997) ArticleTitle‘Naming the Colours’ Australasian Journal of Philosophy 75 325–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Rayo, A. (manuscript): ‘A Metasemantic Account of Vagueness’.

  • Sainsbury, M. (1996): ‘Concepts Without Boundaries’, in R. Keefe and P. Smith (eds.), Vagueness: A Reader (pp. 251–264), Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. (Inaugural Lecture, King’s College London, 6 November 1990.)

  • H. Wettstein (1988) ArticleTitle‘Cognitive Significance Without Cognitive Content’ Mind 97 1–28 Occurrence HandleMR938891

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • T. Williamson (1994) Vagueness Routledge London

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Wright (1975) ArticleTitle‘On the Coherence of Vague Predicates’ Synthèse 30 325–365 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00485049

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. Wright (2001) ArticleTitle‘On Being in a Quandary’ Mind 110 45–98 Occurrence Handle10.1093/mind/110.437.45

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Colorado, Campus Box 232, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    Matti Eklund

Authors
  1. Matti Eklund
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matti Eklund.

Additional information

Manythanks to Ólafur PállJónsson, Peter Koellner, Agustín Rayo, audiences at Yale University and the University of Colorado at Boulder, and to Kent Bach and John MacFarlane and other members ofthe Bay Area Philosophy of Language Reading Group, for helpful comments on this paper (and ancestors thereof).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Eklund, M. What Vagueness Consists In. Philos Stud 125, 27–60 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-005-7773-1

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-005-7773-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation