PHIL315 Lecture 3: Problems and solutions to non-being

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHIL315
• Professor: Richard Hanley

Document Summary

3 pa(cid:396)ti(cid:272)ula(cid:396) (cid:448)ie(cid:449)s of u(cid:374)de(cid:396)sta(cid:374)di(cid:374)g (cid:862)e(cid:373)pt(cid:455) (cid:374)a(cid:373)es(cid:863) Quine & mcx thinks all things exist. Wyman says existence is a predicate like the color red: not everything is red, and not everything exists. Quine says to take the sentences that we sincerely assent to, and render them into predicate calculus to tell us what we are committed to when we assent to them. General issue with meinong: metaphysical problem: what is it for a non existent thing to have the property of being a flying thing, you have to believe in non-existing things, ontological cost. Pegasus and holmes are names of ideas of things. M(cid:272)x"s st(cid:396)ateg(cid:455: (cid:862)pegasus flies(cid:863) is e(cid:395)ui(cid:448)o(cid:272)al (cid:271)et(cid:449)ee(cid:374) pegasus ha(cid:448)i(cid:374)g a p(cid:396)ope(cid:396)t(cid:455) su(cid:272)h as fl(cid:455)i(cid:374)g, and pegasus holding a property. (cid:862)pegasus does (cid:374)ot e(cid:454)ist(cid:863) is e(cid:395)ui(cid:448)o(cid:272)al to the lite(cid:396)al (cid:396)eadi(cid:374)g as false, a(cid:374)d paraphrase: because if pegasus is a name representing an idea, and ideas exist, then saying. Paraphrase in such a way so that it is true.