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Single Idea 6060
[filed under theme 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 Ref
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.
The
32 ideas
from 'The Philosophy of Logical Atomism'
21708
|
Russell's new logical atomist was of particulars, universals and facts (not platonic propositions)
[Russell, by Linsky,B]
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19051
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Russell's atomic facts are actually compounds, and his true logical atoms are sense data
[Russell, by Quine]
|
18376
|
Russell asserts atomic, existential, negative and general facts
[Russell, by Armstrong]
|
5465
|
Modern trope theory tries, like logical atomism, to reduce things to elementary states
[Russell, by Ellis]
|
6060
|
'Existence' means that a propositional function is sometimes true
[Russell]
|
9022
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Russell uses 'propositional function' to refer to both predicates and to attributes
[Quine on Russell]
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21702
|
In 1918 still believes in nonlinguistic analogues of sentences, but he now calls them 'facts'
[Russell, by Quine]
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18348
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Not only atomic truths, but also general and negative truths, have truth-makers
[Russell, by Rami]
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7744
|
Treat description using quantifiers, and treat proper names as descriptions
[Russell, by McCullogh]
|
6090
|
Facts make propositions true or false, and are expressed by whole sentences
[Russell]
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6091
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Propositions don't name facts, because each fact corresponds to a proposition and its negation
[Russell]
|
6089
|
Logical atomism aims at logical atoms as the last residue of analysis
[Russell]
|
6093
|
The names in a logically perfect language would be private, and could not be shared
[Russell]
|
6092
|
In a logically perfect language, there will be just one word for every simple object
[Russell]
|
6095
|
The business of metaphysics is to describe the world
[Russell]
|
6094
|
An inventory of the world does not need to include propositions
[Russell]
|
6096
|
I no longer believe in propositions, especially concerning falsehoods
[Russell]
|
6097
|
The theory of error seems to need the existence of the non-existent
[Russell]
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6098
|
Perception goes straight to the fact, and not through the proposition
[Russell]
|
6100
|
Once you have enumerated all the atomic facts, there is a further fact that those are all the facts
[Russell]
|
6099
|
Modal terms are properties of propositional functions, not of propositions
[Russell]
|
6119
|
You can discuss 'God exists', so 'God' is a description, not a name
[Russell]
|
6101
|
Romulus does not occur in the proposition 'Romulus did not exist'
[Russell]
|
6102
|
You can understand 'author of Waverley', but to understand 'Scott' you must know who it applies to
[Russell]
|
6103
|
Normally a class with only one member is a problem, because the class and the member are identical
[Russell]
|
6106
|
Reducing entities and premisses makes error less likely
[Russell]
|
6105
|
Logical atoms aims to get down to ultimate simples, with their own unique reality
[Russell]
|
6104
|
Numbers are classes of classes, and hence fictions of fictions
[Russell]
|
10423
|
There are a set of criteria for pinning down a logically proper name
[Russell, by Sainsbury]
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10426
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A name has got to name something or it is not a name
[Russell]
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21712
|
I know longer believe in shadowy things like 'that today is Wednesday' when it is actually Tuesday
[Russell]
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21709
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You can't name all the facts, so they are not real, but are what propositions assert
[Russell]
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