Fraser Macbride
Biographic Data
| ID | 1629059 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Fraser Macbride |
| GIVEN NAMES | Fraser |
| FAMILY NAME | Macbride |
| SIGNATURE | MACBRIDE F |
| AFFILIATIONS | Birkbeck, University of London |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2374-0442 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 18 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 10 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Converse Predicates and the Interpretation of Second Order Quantification
In this paper I argue that we cannot interpret second-order quantification as quantification over an abundant supply of properties and relations conceived as the referents of predicates. My argument forges a hitherto unexplored connection between debates typically conducted independently, one about whether there are converse relations, the other about the interpretation of second-order quantifiers. I begin from the semantics of converse predicate…
Non-Symmetric Relation Names
Is it possible to name non-symmetric relations? If non-symmetric relations had distinct converses, then the difficulty of picking out and distinguishing a non-symmetric relation from its converses would plausibly present an insuperable obstacle to introducing names for them. But we argue that if non-symmetric relations lack converses, then the aforementioned difficulty does not arise. Moreover, we argue, at the semantic level, that English or mod…
The Problem of Universals in Contemporary Philosophy
Are there any universal entities? Or is the world populated only by particular things? The problem of universals is one of the most fascinating and enduring topics in the history of metaphysics, with roots in ancient and medieval philosophy. This collection of new essays provides an innovative overview of the contemporary debate on universals. Rather than focusing exclusively on the traditional opposition between realism and nominalism, the contr…
Impure Reference
Can Ante Rem Structuralism Solve the Access Problem
Ante rem structuralism is the doctrine that mathematics describes a realm of abstract (structural) universals. According to its proponents, appeal to the existence of these universals provides a source of distinctive insight into the epistemology of mathematics, in particular insight into the so‐called ‘access problem’ of explaining how mathematicians can reliably access truths about an abstract realm to which they cannot travel and from which th…
Identity and modality
Structuralism Reconsidered
Whence the Particular-Universal Distinction
Speaking with Shadows
According to the species of neo‐logicism advanced by Hale and Wright, mathematical knowledge is essentially logical knowledge. Their view is found to be best understood as a set of related though independent theses: (1) neo‐fregeanism—a general conception of the relation between language and reality; (2) the method of abstraction—a particular method for introducing concepts into language; (3) the scope of logic—second‐order logic is logic. The cr…
Listening to Fictions
Speaking with Shadows
According to the species of neo‐logicism advanced by Hale and Wright, mathematical knowledge is essentially logical knowledge. Their view is found to be best understood as a set of related though independent theses: (1) neo‐fregeanism—a general conception of the relation between language and reality; (2) the method of abstraction—a particular method for introducing concepts into language; (3) the scope of logic—second‐order logic is logic. The cr…
Listening to Fictions
Can Ante Rem Structuralism Solve the Access Problem
Ante rem structuralism is the doctrine that mathematics describes a realm of abstract (structural) universals. According to its proponents, appeal to the existence of these universals provides a source of distinctive insight into the epistemology of mathematics, in particular insight into the so‐called ‘access problem’ of explaining how mathematicians can reliably access truths about an abstract realm to which they cannot travel and from which th…
Whence the Particular-Universal Distinction
Listening to Fictions
Speaking with Shadows
According to the species of neo‐logicism advanced by Hale and Wright, mathematical knowledge is essentially logical knowledge. Their view is found to be best understood as a set of related though independent theses: (1) neo‐fregeanism—a general conception of the relation between language and reality; (2) the method of abstraction—a particular method for introducing concepts into language; (3) the scope of logic—second‐order logic is logic. The cr…
Whence the Particular-Universal Distinction
Structuralism Reconsidered
Identity and modality
Can Ante Rem Structuralism Solve the Access Problem
Ante rem structuralism is the doctrine that mathematics describes a realm of abstract (structural) universals. According to its proponents, appeal to the existence of these universals provides a source of distinctive insight into the epistemology of mathematics, in particular insight into the so‐called ‘access problem’ of explaining how mathematicians can reliably access truths about an abstract realm to which they cannot travel and from which th…
Impure Reference
The Problem of Universals in Contemporary Philosophy
Are there any universal entities? Or is the world populated only by particular things? The problem of universals is one of the most fascinating and enduring topics in the history of metaphysics, with roots in ancient and medieval philosophy. This collection of new essays provides an innovative overview of the contemporary debate on universals. Rather than focusing exclusively on the traditional opposition between realism and nominalism, the contr…
Converse Predicates and the Interpretation of Second Order Quantification
In this paper I argue that we cannot interpret second-order quantification as quantification over an abundant supply of properties and relations conceived as the referents of predicates. My argument forges a hitherto unexplored connection between debates typically conducted independently, one about whether there are converse relations, the other about the interpretation of second-order quantifiers. I begin from the semantics of converse predicate…
Non-Symmetric Relation Names
Is it possible to name non-symmetric relations? If non-symmetric relations had distinct converses, then the difficulty of picking out and distinguishing a non-symmetric relation from its converses would plausibly present an insuperable obstacle to introducing names for them. But we argue that if non-symmetric relations lack converses, then the aforementioned difficulty does not arise. Moreover, we argue, at the semantic level, that English or mod…
Epistemology (7 works) · Philosophy (6 works) · Philosophy and Theoretical Science (6 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Linguistics (3 works) · Metaphysics (3 works) · Philosophy and History of Science (3 works) · Computability, Logic, AI Algorithms (2 works) · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics (2 works)