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Full Idea
Meinong has recently been credited with inspiring 'free logic': a logic without existence assumptions.
Gist of Idea
So-called 'free logic' operates without existence assumptions
Source
report of Alexius Meinong (The Theory of Objects [1904]) by George / Van Evra - The Rise of Modern Logic 8
Book Ref
'A Companion of Philosophical Logic', ed/tr. Jacquette,Dale [Blackwell 2002], p.46
A Reaction
This would appear to be a bold escape from the quandries concerning the existential implications of quantifiers. I immediately find it very appealing. It seems to spell disaster for the Quinean program of deducing ontology from language.
8250 | So-called 'free logic' operates without existence assumptions [Meinong, by George/Van Evra] |
13846 | A 'free' logic can have empty names, and a 'universally free' logic can have empty domains [Bostock] |
10455 | Free logic at least allows empty names, but struggles to express non-existence [Bach] |
9672 | Free logic is one of the few first-order non-classical logics [Priest,G] |
11011 | Same say there are positive, negative and neuter free logics [Read] |
13250 | Free logic terms aren't existential; classical is non-empty, with referring names [Beall/Restall] |
8694 | Free logic was developed for fictional or non-existent objects [Friend] |
18767 | Free logics has terms that do not designate real things, and even empty domains [Anderson,CA] |