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May 7, 2021 · Because the world is fuzzy and we want to correctly and adequately represent the world, we should use vague language. (1) It is desirable to correctly and adequately represent the world. (2) The world is fuzzy. (3) Vagueness is an indispensable causal means to correctly and adequately represent a fuzzy world.
- David Lanius
- 2021
Abstract. According to the ancient sorites paradox, zero grains of sand is not enough to make a heap, and adding one single grain can never transform a non-heap into a heap, so there can be no heaps of sand! Similar reasoning applies to all vague terms. In view of this problem, some philosophers have suggested that we must modify classical ...
This chapter presents a definition of vagueness. Section 3.1 explains what the task of defining vagueness involves, and why this task is important. Section 3.2 examines and criticizes existing definitions of vagueness. Section 3.3 explains a key notion necessary for an understanding of the book's definition of vagueness.
Feb 8, 1997 · Therefore ‘a = b’ must be definitely true! Evans agrees that there are vague identity statements in which one of the flanking terms is vague (just as Kripke agrees that there are contingent identity statements when one of the flanking terms is a flaccid designator). But then the vagueness is due to language, not the world.
The concept is seen to give rise to two main problems: the ‘soritic problem’ of finding a solution to the paradoxes of vagueness; and the ‘semantic problem’ of finding a satisfactory semantics and logic for vague language. It discusses three of the main attempts to deal with these problems – Supervaluationism, Degree theory, and ...
This system has the consequence that borderline cases of vague terms yield statements that are neither true, nor false. [4] Given a supervaluationist semantics, one can define the predicate "supertrue" as meaning "true on all precisifications". This predicate will not change the semantics of atomic statements (e.g. "Frank is bald", where Frank ...
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Feb 8, 1997 · This is a file in the archives of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vagueness. First published Sat Feb 8, 1997; substantive revision Tue Aug 29, 2006. There is wide agreement that a term is vague to the extent that it has borderline cases. This makes the notion of a borderline case crucial in accounts of vagueness.
