Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Explanation in Mathematics', 'Dthat' and 'Quantifiers and Propositional Attitudes'

unexpand these ideas     |    start again     |     specify just one area for these texts


3 ideas

9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 7. Essence and Necessity / b. Essence not necessities
Essences are no use in mathematics, if all mathematical truths are necessary [Mancosu]
     Full Idea: Essences and essential properties do not seem to be useful in mathematical contexts, since all mathematical truths are regarded as necessary (though Kit Fine distinguishes between essential and necessary properties).
     From: Paolo Mancosu (Explanation in Mathematics [2008], §6.1)
     A reaction: I take the proviso in brackets to be crucial. This represents a distortion of notion of an essence. There is a world of difference between the central facts about the nature of a square and the peripheral inferences derivable from it.
19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 10. Denial of Meanings
Intensions are creatures of darkness which should be exorcised [Quine]
     Full Idea: Intensions are creatures of darkness and I shall rejoice with the reader when they are exorcised.
     From: Willard Quine (Quantifiers and Propositional Attitudes [1955], §II)
     A reaction: Quine seems to be in a diminshing minority with this view. For 'intensions' read 'meanings', presumably.
19. Language / B. Reference / 3. Direct Reference / b. Causal reference
Are causal descriptions part of the causal theory of reference, or are they just metasemantic? [Kaplan, by Schaffer,J]
     Full Idea: Kaplan notes that the causal theory of reference can be understood in two quite different ways, as part of the semantics (involving descriptions of causal processes), or as metasemantics, explaining why a term has the referent it does.
     From: report of David Kaplan (Dthat [1970]) by Jonathan Schaffer - Deflationary Metaontology of Thomasson 1
     A reaction: [Kaplan 'Afterthought' 1989] The theory tends to be labelled as 'direct' rather than as 'causal' these days, but causal chains are still at the heart of the story (even if more diffused socially). Nice question. Kaplan takes the meta- version as orthodox.