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Single Idea 10670

[from 'On Plural Reference and Set Theory' by Helen Cartwright, in 5. Theory of Logic / F. Referring in Logic / 1. Naming / d. Singular terms ]

Full Idea

Helen Cartwright calls 'a number of' a 'singulariser', an expression whose linguistic function is to convert to a syntactically neutral form an expression whose semantic value remains plural. It is a great convenience grammatically.

Gist of Idea

A 'singulariser' converts a plural like 'number of' to a syntactically neutral form

Source

report of Helen Cartwright (On Plural Reference and Set Theory [1993]) by Keith Hossack - Plurals and Complexes 2

Book Reference

-: 'British Soc for the Philosophy of Science' [-], p.416


A Reaction

Compare Hofweber's Idea 10004, suggesting it is a crucial psychological convenience for reasoning, as well as a 'grammatical' convenience.

Related Idea

Idea 10004 Our minds are at their best when reasoning about objects [Hofweber]