Single Idea 3082

[catalogued under 19. Language / A. Nature of Meaning / 9. Ambiguity]

Full Idea

Ambiguity results from the possibility of transforming different underlying truth-conditional structures into the same surface form.

Gist of Idea

Ambiguity is when different underlying truth-conditional structures have the same surface form

Source

Gilbert Harman (Thought [1973], 5.3)

Book Reference

Harman,Gilbert: 'Thought' [Princeton 1977], p.78


A Reaction

Personally I would call a 'truth-conditional structure' a 'proposition', and leave it to the philosophers to decide what a proposition is.