Single Idea 23542

[catalogued under 7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 10. Vagueness / c. Vagueness as ignorance]

Full Idea

We can see Epistemicism [vagueness as ignorance] as a common and misguided tendency to identify a cause with its symptoms. We are unsure how to characterise vagueness, and identify it with the resulting ignorance, instead of explaining it.

Gist of Idea

Identifying vagueness with ignorance is the common mistake of confusing symptoms with cause

Source

Kit Fine (Vagueness: a global approach [2020], 1)

Book Reference

Fine,Kit: 'Vagueness: a global approach' [OUP 2020], p.16


A Reaction

Love it. This echoes my repeated plea in these reactions to stop identifying features of reality with the functions which embody them or the patterns they create. We need to explain them, and must dig deeper.

Related Idea

Idea 23543 We identify laws with regularities because we mistakenly identify causes with their symptoms [Fine,K]