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Underlying states and time travelIn James Higginbotham, Fabio Pianesi & Achille C. Varzi (eds.), Speaking of events, Oxford University Press. 2000.I begin by sketching a theory about the semantics of verbs in event sentences, and the evidence on which that theory is based. In the second section, I discuss the evidence for extending that theory to state sentences, including copulative sentences with adjectives and nouns; the evidence for this extension of the theory is not very good. In the third section, I discuss new evidence based on considerations of talk about time travel; that evidence is apparently quite good. I conclude with a probl…Read more
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19An Analysis of Mass Terms and Amount TermsFoundations of Language 6 (3): 362-388. 1970.Methods of representing sentences containing mass terms (e.g. "gold") and amount terms (e.g. "three gallons") within the predicate calculus are given, and the semantics of the resulting sentences is discussed. the appendix sketches a way to systematically translate english sentences into the logical notation, exploiting some results of transformational grammar
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275A Meinongian Analysis of Fictional ObjectsGrazer Philosophische Studien 1 (1): 73-86. 1975.This paper explores the view that there are such things as (nonexistent) fictional objects, and that we refer to such objects when we say things like "Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective", or "Conan Doyle wrote about Sherlock Holmes". A theory of such objects is developed as a special application of a Meinongian Ontology.
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Billingham and Buridan on the foundations of syllogistic reasoningIn Christoph Kann, Benedikt Löewe, Christian Rode & Sara Liana Uckelman (eds.), Modern views of medieval logic, Peeters. 2018.
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38 The Power of Medieval LogicIn Charles Bolyard & Rondo Keele (eds.), Later Medieval Metaphysics: Ontology, Language, and Logic, Fordham University Press. pp. 188-205. 2013.
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93A course in semanticsMIT Press. 2019.An introductory text in linguistic semantics, uniquely balancing empirical coverage and formalism with development of intuition and methodology. This introductory textbook in linguistic semantics for undergraduates features a unique balance between empirical coverage and formalism on the one hand and development of intuition and methodology on the other. It will equip students to form intuitions about a set of data, explain how well an analysis of the data accords with their intuitions, and exte…Read more
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20Formal Philosophy: Selected Papers of Richard Montague (review)Journal of Philosophy 72 (7): 196-203. 1975.
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50A Meinongian Analysis of Fictional ObjectsGrazer Philosophische Studien 1 (1): 73-86. 1975.This paper explores the view that there are such things as (nonexistent) fictional objects, and that we refer to such objects when we say things like "Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective", or "Conan Doyle wrote about Sherlock Holmes". A theory of such objects is developed as a special application of a Meinongian Ontology.
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21X*—Worldly Indeterminacy of IdentityProceedings of the Aristotelian Society 95 (1): 171-192. 1995.Terence Parsons, Peter Woodruff; X*—Worldly Indeterminacy of Identity, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Volume 95, Issue 1, 1 June 1995, Pages 171–192
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35Exploring Meinong's Jungle and Beyond by Richard Routley (review)Journal of Philosophy 80 (3): 173-179. 1983.
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15Russell's Early Views on DenotingIn D. F. Austin (ed.), Philosophical Analysis, Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 17--44. 1988.
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179Frege's Hierarchies of Indirect Senses and the Paradox of AnalysisMidwest Studies in Philosophy 6 (1): 37-58. 1981.
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14Meinongian Semantics GeneralizedGrazer Philosophische Studien 50 (1): 145-161. 1995.It is tempting to think that Meinong overlooked the "specific/nonspecific" distinction. For example, 'I am looking for a grey horse' may either mean that there is a specific horse I am looking for (e.g. one I lost), or just that I am grey-horse-seeking. The former reading, and not the latter, requires for its truth that there be a grey horse. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether it is defensible to maintain Meinong's theory here: to take nonspecific reading of any verb concerning …Read more
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122Indeterminate identity: metaphysics and semanticsClarendon Press. 2000.Terence Parsons presents a lively and controversial study of philosophical questions about identity. Because many puzzles about identity remain unsolved, some people believe that they are questions that have no answers and that there is a problem with the language used to formulate them. Parsons explores a different possibility: that such puzzles lack answers because of the way the world is (or because of the way the world is not). He claims that there is genuine indeterminacy of identity in the…Read more
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51Afterthoughts on mass termsSynthese 31 (3-4). 1975.This is a short note indicating how I would revise an earlier paper ("an analysis of mass terms and amount terms," "foundations of language", Volume 6, Number 3, 1970) in the light of criticisms that have been made of it
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Areas of Specialization
Logic and Philosophy of Logic |
Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Logic and Philosophy of Logic |
Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy |