Single Idea 21620

[catalogued under 7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 10. Vagueness / c. Vagueness as ignorance]

Full Idea

The epistemic view is that ignorance is the real essence of the phenomenon ostensively identified as vagueness. ...[203] According to the epistemic view, I am either thin or not thin, ...and we have no idea how to find out out which.

Gist of Idea

The epistemic view says that the essence of vagueness is ignorance

Source

Timothy Williamson (Vagueness [1994], 7.4)

Book Reference

Williamson,Timothy: 'Vagueness' [Routledge 1996], p.202


A Reaction

Presumably this implies that there is often a real border (of which we may be ignorant), but it doesn't seem to rule out cases where there just is no border. Where does the east Atlantic meet the west Atlantic?