Single Idea 16446

[catalogued under 19. Language / D. Propositions / 3. Concrete Propositions]

Full Idea

It seems plausible that singular propositions are object-dependent in the sense that the proposition would not exist if the individual did not. It is also plausible that some objects exist contingently, and there are singular propositions about them.

Gist of Idea

Propositions presumably don't exist if the things they refer to don't exist

Source

Robert C. Stalnaker (Mere Possibilities [2012], 2)

Book Reference

Stalnaker,Robert C.: 'Mere Possibilities' [Princeton 2012], p.22


A Reaction

This replies to the view that possible worlds are maximal sets of propositions, and so must exist for the worlds to exist; e.g. Lowe 1999:248. That is yet another commonplace of contemporary philosophy which I find utterly bewildering.