more from Gideon Rosen

Single Idea 8915

[catalogued under 9. Objects / A. Existence of Objects / 2. Abstract Objects / d. Problems with abstracta]

Full Idea

It is unclear how we manage to refer determinately to abstract entities in a sense in which it is not unclear how we manage to refer determinately to other things.

Gist of Idea

How we refer to abstractions is much less clear than how we refer to other things

Source

Gideon Rosen (Abstract Objects [2001], 'Way of Ex')

Book Reference

'Stanford Online Encyclopaedia of Philosophy', ed/tr. Stanford University [plato.stanford.edu], p.6


A Reaction

This is where problems of abstraction overlap with problems about reference in language. Can we have a 'baptism' account of each abstraction (even very large numbers)? Will descriptions do it? Do abstractions collapse into particulars when we refer?