Abstract
The paper develops a proof-theoretic semantics for belief reports by extending the constructive type-theoretical formalism presented in Więckowski (Stud Log 100:815–853, 2012) with a specific kind of set-forming operator suited for the representation of belief attitudes. The extended formalism allows us to interpret constructions which involve, e.g., iteration of belief, quantifying into belief contexts, and anaphora in belief reports. Moreover, constructive solutions to canonical instances of the problem of hyperintensionality are suggested. The paper includes a discussion of Ranta’s (Type-theoretical grammar, 1994) constructive account of belief reports.
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Acknowledgments
I have presented parts of this paper at the 8th Scandinavian Logic Symposium at Roskilde University in August 2012, at a Linguistics Colloquium at Goethe University Frankfurt in May 2013, and at the Congress on Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS13) at Ghent University in September 2013. I would like to thank the participants at these occasions for their feedback. I am indebted to Nissim Francez, Bjørn Jespersen, and Thomas Ede Zimmermann for very helpful discussions on intensional issues. This paper also greatly benefited from incisive comments by several anonymous referees for Synthese. Support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG grant WI 3456/2-1) is gratefully acknowledged.
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Więckowski, B. Constructive belief reports. Synthese 192, 603–633 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-014-0540-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-014-0540-0