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Single Idea 6067
[filed under theme 5. Theory of Logic / G. Quantification / 1. Quantification
]
Full Idea
What the existential quantifier does is indicate the quantity of things in question - it says that some are; it is left up to the predicate 'exists' to express existence.
Gist of Idea
Existential quantifiers just express the quantity of things, leaving existence to the predicate 'exists'
Source
Colin McGinn (Logical Properties [2000], Ch.2)
Book Ref
McGinn,Colin: 'Logical Properties' [OUP 2003], p.32
A Reaction
This seems right. The whole quantification business seems like a conjuring trick to conceal the embarrassingly indefinable and 'metaphysical' notion of 'existence'. Cf Idea 7697.
Related Idea
Idea 7697
On Russell's analysis, the sentence "The winged horse has wings" comes out as false [Jacquette]
The
23 ideas
with the same theme
[general ideas about expressing quantities of objects]:
11149
|
Affirming/denying sentences are universal, particular, or indeterminate
[Aristotle]
|
9106
|
The word 'every' only signifies when added to a term such as 'man', referring to all men
[William of Ockham]
|
9950
|
A quantifier is a second-level predicate (which explains how it contributes to truth-conditions)
[Frege, by George/Velleman]
|
14137
|
'Any' is better than 'all' where infinite classes are concerned
[Russell]
|
9467
|
Wittgenstein tried unsuccessfully to reduce quantifiers to conjunctions and disjunctions
[Wittgenstein, by Jacquette]
|
10922
|
Objects are the values of variables, so a referentially opaque context cannot be quantified into
[Quine]
|
9015
|
Universal quantification is widespread, but it is definable in terms of existential quantification
[Quine]
|
10926
|
Quantifying into referentially opaque contexts often produces nonsense
[Quine]
|
10311
|
No sense can be made of quantification into opaque contexts
[Quine, by Hale]
|
10538
|
Finite quantification can be eliminated in favour of disjunction and conjunction
[Quine, by Dummett]
|
10799
|
Nominalists should quantify existentially at first-order, and substitutionally when higher
[Marcus (Barcan)]
|
15891
|
Traditional quantifiers combine ordinary language generality and ontology assumptions
[Harré]
|
19057
|
Classical quantification is an infinite conjunction or disjunction - but you may not know all the instances
[Dummett]
|
13438
|
'Prenex normal form' is all quantifiers at the beginning, out of the scope of truth-functors
[Bostock]
|
6042
|
The quantifier is overrated as an analytical tool
[McGinn]
|
6067
|
Existential quantifiers just express the quantity of things, leaving existence to the predicate 'exists'
[McGinn]
|
6890
|
Quantifiers turn an open sentence into one to which a truth-value can be assigned
[Mautner]
|
18492
|
Not all quantification is either objectual or substitutional
[Williamson]
|
11007
|
Quantifiers are second-order predicates
[Read]
|
8452
|
Traditionally, universal sentences had existential import, but were later treated as conditional claims
[Orenstein]
|
16416
|
The quantifier in logic is not like the ordinary English one (which has empty names, non-denoting terms etc)
[Hofweber]
|
21643
|
The inferential quantifier focuses on truth; the domain quantifier focuses on reality
[Hofweber]
|
23494
|
Conjunctive and disjunctive quantifiers are too specific, and are confined to the finite
[Morris,M]
|