Single Idea 6060

[catalogued under 7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 11. Ontological Commitment / a. Ontological commitment]

Full Idea

When you take any propositional function and assert of it that it is possible, that it is sometimes true, that gives you the fundamental meaning of 'existence'.

Clarification

A 'proposition function' says something about something

Gist of Idea

'Existence' means that a propositional function is sometimes true

Source

Bertrand Russell (The Philosophy of Logical Atomism [1918]), quoted by Colin McGinn - Logical Properties Ch.2

Book Reference

McGinn,Colin: 'Logical Properties' [OUP 2003], p.18


A Reaction

Functions depend on variables, so this leads to Quine's slogan "to be is to be the value of a variable". Assertions of non-existence are an obvious problem, but Russell thought of all that. All of this makes existence too dependent on language.