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177Outline of a theory of scientific understandingSynthese 101 (1): 65-120. 1994.The basic theory of scientific understanding presented in Sections 1–2 exploits three main ideas.First, that to understand a phenomenonP (for a given agent) is to be able to fitP into the cognitive background corpusC (of the agent).Second, that to fitP intoC is to connectP with parts ofC (via arguments in a very broad sense) such that the unification ofC increases.Third, that the cognitive changes involved in unification can be treated as sequences of shifts of phenomena inC. How the theory fits…Read more
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122On the philosophical foundations of free logicInquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 24 (2). 1981.The essay outlines the character of free logic, and motivation for its construction and development. It details some technical achievements of high philosophical interest, but urges that the role of existence assumptions in logic is still not fully understood, that unresolved old problems, both technical and philosophical, abound, and presents some new problems of considerable philosophical import in free logic.
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97Free logic and the concept of existenceNotre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 8 (1-2): 133-144. 1967.
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82Universally free logic and standard quantification theoryJournal of Symbolic Logic 33 (1): 8-26. 1968.
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81Free Logic: Selected EssaysCambridge University Press. 2002.Free logic is an important field of philosophical logic that first appeared in the 1950s. J. Karel Lambert was one of its founders and coined the term itself. The essays in this collection explore the philosophical foundations of free logic and its application to areas as diverse as the philosophy of religion and computer science. Amongst the applications on offer are those to the analysis of existence statements, to definite descriptions and to partial functions. The volume contains a proof tha…Read more
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76Impossible objectsInquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 17 (1-4). 1974.This paper deals with the Meinong-Russell controversy on nonsubsistent objects. The first part notes the similarity of certain contemporary semantical developments to Meinonj;'s theory of nonsubsistent objects. Then it lays out the major features of Meinong's famous theory, considers Russell's objections to same and Meinong's counter-objections to Russell, and argues that Russell's well-known argument fails. However, it is possible to augment Russell's argument against Meinong with sound Russell…Read more
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76As well as aiming to revive interest in Meinong's thought, this book challenges many of the most widespread assumptions of philosophical logic.
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65Non-Existent ObjectsGrazer Philosophische Studien 25 (1): 439-446. 1985.This essay argues for the importance of developing theories of nonexistent objects. The grounds are utility and smoothness of logical theory. In the latter case a parallel with the theory of negative and imaginary numbers is exploited. The essay concludes with a counterexample to a general argument against the enterprise of developing theories of nonexistent objects, and outlining the foremost problem an adequate theory of nonexistent objects must solve.
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63Set Theory and Definite DescriptionsGrazer Philosophische Studien 60 (1): 1-11. 2000.This paper offers an explanation of the maj or traditions in the logical treatment of definite descriptions as reactions to paradoxical naive definite descriptiontheory. The explanation closely parallels that of various set theories as reactions to paradoxical naive set theory. Indeed, naive set theory is derivable from naive definite description theory given an appropriate definition of set abstracts in terms of definite descriptions.
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58The ineliminability of e! In free quantification theory without identityJournal of Philosophical Logic 11 (2). 1982.
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57Philosophical applications of free logic (edited book)Oxford University Press. 1991.Free logic, an alternative to traditional logic, has been seen as a useful avenue of approach to a number of philosophical issues of contemporary interest. In this collection, Karel Lambert, one of the pioneers in, and the most prominent exponent of, free logic, brings together a variety of published essays bearing on the application of free logic to philosophical topics ranging from set theory and logic to metaphysics and the philosophy of religion. The work of such distinguished philosophers a…Read more
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53Quantification and existenceInquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 6 (1-4): 319-324. 1963.Those who want to interpret the quantifier ? (3 x) (. . .x. . .)'as having no existence commitment often fail to distinguish between this objective and that of merely changing the values of the variables. The confusion vitiates solutions of the singular existence anomalies which purport to be based on a non?existential interpretation of the quantifier. An example of one who makes the distinction but still interprets the particular quantifier non?existentially is offered by Czeslaw Lejewski. Obje…Read more
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50A free logic with simple and complex predicatesNotre Dame Journal of Formal Logic 27 (2): 247-256. 1986.
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47Singular terms and truthPhilosophical Studies 10 (1). 1959.A 'free logic' for singular terms with restrictions on existential generalization and universal instantiation is set out and argued for. Weaker logics, Such as lambert's fd and fd1 are held incapable of proving instances of tarski's truth schema for languages containing non-Denoting terms. Stronger logics, Such as scott's and lambert's fd2, Are held to yield false theorems when given natural interpretations. The logic defended conforms essentially to russell's semantical intuitions. Some consequ…Read more
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44Predication and OntologyCanadian Journal of Philosophy 17 (3). 1987.It is an historical fact that one of Russell's greatest philosophical contributions was to highlight the role that premises about logical form play in ontological arguments. A pair of quotations will introduce his point that great metaphysical systems are often not only based on, but are debased by, the belief that certain statements of philosophical discourse are logically subject-predicate in form.Speaking of Hegel's Absolute Idealism, Russell wrote in Our Knowledge of The Extemal World:Mr. Br…Read more
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43On the Philosophical foundations of free description theoryHistory and Philosophy of Logic 8 (1): 57-66. 1987.This essay lays out the leading principles of the theories of definite descriptions advocated by Frege, Russell, and Hilbert and Bernays, and discusses various difficulties, philosophical and otherwise, with each treatment, fixing especially on the treatment of singular existence claims. Then the leading principles of free (definite) description theory are presented and it is shown how it resolves difficulties confronting the more traditional approaches. Finally, a pair of technical problems in …Read more
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41Characterizing and ClassifyingThe Monist 77 (3): 315-328. 1994.Regimentation of an intuitively plausible distinction enhances understanding of that distinction. In Carnap’s words, it is an explication. Properly employed, it is, in the case to be considered, and in almost all others, an indispensable aid to good philosophizing.
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41On Free Description TheoryZeitschrift fur mathematische Logik und Grundlagen der Mathematik 13 (15): 225-240. 1967.
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40From predication to programmingMinds and Machines 11 (2): 257-265. 2001.A free logic is one in which a singular term can fail to refer to an existent object, for example, `Vulcan' or `5/0'. This essay demonstrates the fruitfulness of a version of this non-classical logic of terms (negative free logic) by showing (1) how it can be used not only to repair a looming inconsistency in Quine's theory of predication, the most influential semantical theory in contemporary philosophical logic, but also (2) how Beeson, Farmer and Feferman, among others, use it to provide a na…Read more
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40Dissecting post‐mating prezygotic speciation phenotypesBioessays 36 (11): 1050-1053. 2014.Darwin's “mystery of mysteries,” the origin of species, is caused by the evolution of speciation phenotypes, i.e. phenotypic differences that depress gene flow between daughter species during speciation. Postmating, prezygotic (PMPZ) differentiation characterizes many closely related species causing conspecific sperm precedence (CSP), wherein a female preferentially utilizes conspecific over heterospecific sperm in fertilization. Until recently, the components of CSP have been difficult to obser…Read more
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34Orthodox Christianity, Soviet Atheism and 'Animist' Practices in the Russianized WorldDiogenes 52 (1): 21-31. 2005.In Russia a monotheism - Orthodox Christianity - and atheism in its Marxist version have succeeded each other as state systems of rites and representations. Rather than contrasting one with the other, term with term, this paper proposes to bring in a third term: the local religious systems of Russia’s animist minorities. We examine how Christianity and atheism tried one after the other to get established there and also consider the reactions they encountered. The analysis as planned is undertake…Read more