more from Bertrand Russell

Single Idea 6437

[catalogued under 2. Reason / F. Fallacies / 8. Category Mistake / a. Category mistakes]

Full Idea

'Socrates and killing are two' would be an illegitimate sentence according to the doctrine of types.

Gist of Idea

The theory of types makes 'Socrates and killing are two' illegitimate

Source

Bertrand Russell (My Philosophical Development [1959], Ch.14)

Book Reference

Russell,Bertrand: 'My Philosophical Development' [Routledge 1993], p.119


A Reaction

This nicely shows how Ryle's notion of a 'category mistake', although it is a commonsense observation of bogus reasoning, arises out of Russell's logical analysis of sets. Of course, the theory of types has its critics.