Single Idea 11115

[catalogued under 5. Theory of Logic / G. Quantification / 3. Objectual Quantification]

Full Idea

Two ways to see 'all horses are animals' are as picking out all the horses (so that it is a 'horse-quantifier'), ..or as ranging over lots of things in addition to horses, with 'horses' then restricting the things to those that satisfy 'is a horse'.

Gist of Idea

'All horses' either picks out the horses, or the things which are horses

Source

Michael Jubien (Analyzing Modality [2007], 2)

Book Reference

'Oxford Studies in Metaphysics vol.3', ed/tr. Zimmerman,Dean W. [OUP 2007], p.107


A Reaction

Jubien says this gives you two different metaphysical views, of a world of horses etc., or a world of things which 'are horses'. I vote for the first one, as the second seems to invoke an implausible categorical property ('being a horse'). Cf Idea 11116.

Related Idea

Idea 11116 Being a physical object is our most fundamental category [Jubien]