Hewitt, ST orcid.org/0000-0003-2720-4428 (2018) Tuples all the Way Down? Thought: A Journal of Philosophy, 7 (3). pp. 161-169. ISSN 2161-2234
Abstract
We can introduce singular terms for ordered pairs by means of an abstraction principle.1 Doing so proves useful for a number of projects in the philosophy of mathematics. However there is a question whether we can appeal to the abstraction principle in good faith, since a version of the Caesar Problem can be generated, posing the worry that abstraction fails to introduce expressions which refer determinately to the requisite sort of object. In this note I will pose the difficulty, and then propose a solution. Since my solution appeals to a plausible constraint on the introduction of new expressions to a language, it is of interest independently of the particular case of terms for pairs. Since these provide the occasion for discussion we should nonetheless review the use of abstraction for pairs before the argumentative business of the paper commences.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2018 The Thought Trust and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Hewitt, ST (2018) Tuples all the Way Down? Thought: A Journal of Philosophy, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/tht3.380. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. |
Keywords: | abstraction; neo-fregeanism; logicism; reference; plurals; pairs |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > School of Philosophy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 06 Apr 2018 10:56 |
Last Modified: | 16 May 2020 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/tht3.380 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:129276 |