New Thinking about Propositions

Bibliographic Data

ID10690624
AuthorsJohn Collins (0000-0002-3180-4357, University of East Anglia, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume65
Issue261
Pages842-845
Publication date2015-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Philosophical Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8094 • E-ISSN: 1467-9213
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/pq/pqv033
OpenAlexW1999884378
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited5

New thinking about how to compose a book of philosophy, too! The authors here do not contribute to a single text; instead, by way of individually penned essays, they conduct a debate between themselves about the nature of propositions. Three core claims unite King et al. First, propositions are indispensable for adequate theorizing about mind and language (propositions are real, if you like). Secondly, to be rejected is the view that propositions are abstract in the sense of being some kind of set-theoretical objects or otherwise ‘platonic’. Thirdly, a positive account of propositions should seek to explicate them in terms of otherwise accepted processes or structures. Against this shared backdrop, the authors argue with each other about how best to spell out the positive story. Overall, the book is a splendid contribution to the field, and does genuinely offer ‘new thinking’ about the perennially problematic status of propositions. The format might not catch on, but it works very well here with a group of such sharp thinkers who agree about much and are willing to bend in order to arrive at better ways of satisfying the desiderata indicated by the shared core claims.

Core (optical fiber) · Epistemology · Field (mathematics) · Order (exchange) · Proposition · Set (abstract data type) · Sociology · Spell · Computer Science · Logic, Reasoning, and Knowledge · Mathematics · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Philosophy and Theoretical Science

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