Synthese 195 (1):235-257 (2018)
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Abstract |
In this paper, I argue that sentences that contain ‘omission’ tokens that appear to function as singular terms are meaningful while maintaining the view that omissions are nothing at all or mere absences. I take omissions to be fictional entities and claim that the way in which sentences about fictional characters are true parallels the way in which sentences about omissions are true. I develop a pragmatic account of fictional reference and argue that my fictionalist account of omissions implies a plausible account of the metaphysics of omissions.
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Keywords | Reference Fiction Omission Action Theory Semantics Philosophy of Language Ontology Metaphysics |
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DOI | 10.1007/s11229-016-1211-0 |
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References found in this work BETA
Mimesis as Make-Believe: On the Foundations of the Representational Arts.Kendall L. Walton - 1990 - Harvard University Press.
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Citations of this work BETA
Oxford Studies in Agency and Responsibility, Edited by David Shoemaker. [REVIEW]Samuel Murray - 2018 - Journal of Moral Philosophy 15 (5):611-614.
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