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Single Idea 7883

[from 'Thinking about Consciousness' by David Papineau, in 19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 5. Meaning as Verification ]

Full Idea

The verificationist sin is to infer an indefiniteness of answers immediately from the undecidability of questions.

Gist of Idea

Verificationists tend to infer indefinite answers from undecidable questions

Source

David Papineau (Thinking about Consciousness [2002], 7.02)

Book Reference

Papineau,David: 'Thinking about Consciousness' [OUP 2004], p.178


A Reaction

This remark is aimed at Dummett's anti-realism. It strikes me that what is being described really is a sort of arrogance, in believing that reality can somehow be inferred from studying the epistemic apparatus of a few miserable little mammals.