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Full Idea
A successful account of the unity of the proposition tells us what unites the relevant constituents not merely into some entity or other, but into a proposition.
Gist of Idea
We want to explain not just what unites the constituents, but what unites them into a proposition
Source
Trenton Merricks (Propositions [2015], 4.X)
Book Ref
Merricks,Trenton: 'Propositions' [OUP 2015], p.155
A Reaction
Merrickes takes propositions to be unanalysable unities, but their central activity is representation, so if they needed uniting, that would be the place to look. Some people say that we unite our propositions. Others say the world does. I dunno.
| 16874 | The parts of a thought map onto the parts of a sentence [Frege] |
| 19472 | A sentence is only a thought if it is complete, and has a time-specification [Frege] |
| 14111 | A proposition is a unity, and analysis destroys it [Russell] |
| 19157 | Russell said the proposition must explain its own unity - or else objective truth is impossible [Russell, by Davidson] |
| 7526 | Hegelians say propositions defy analysis, but Moore says they can be broken down [Moore,GE, by Monk] |
| 15058 | A proposition ingredient is 'essential' if changing it would change the truth-value [Fine,K] |
| 19212 | Unity of the proposition questions: what unites them? can the same constituents make different ones? [Merricks] |
| 19213 | We want to explain not just what unites the constituents, but what unites them into a proposition [Merricks] |