back to ideas for this text


Single Idea 9048

[from 'Intro: Theories of Vagueness' by R Keefe / P Smith, in 7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 10. Vagueness / c. Vagueness as ignorance ]

Full Idea

The simplest approach to vagueness is to retain classical logic and semantics. Borderline cases are either true or false, but we don't know which, and, despite appearances, vague predicates have well-defined extensions. Vagueness is ignorance.

Gist of Idea

The simplest approach, that vagueness is just ignorance, retains classical logic and semantics

Source

R Keefe / P Smith (Intro: Theories of Vagueness [1997], §1)

Book Reference

'Vagueness: a Reader', ed/tr. Keefe,R /Smith,P [MIT 1999], p.6


A Reaction

It seems to me that you must have a rather unhealthy attachment to the logicians' view of the world to take this line. It is the passion of the stamp collector, to want everything in sets, with neatly labelled properties, and inference lines marked out.