Empty Names, Fiction and the Puzzles of Non-Existence (Center for the Study of Language and Information - Lecture Notes)

Empty Names, Fiction and the Puzzle of Non-Existence contains 13 important new papers concerning the semantic and metaphysical issues arising from empty names, existence, and the nature of fiction. The contributors, some of the most important researchers working in these fields, develop and defend new positions on these matters and offer important new criticisms of the existing approaches. The book contains a comprehensive introductory essay by the editors which provides a survey of the philosophical issues concerning empty names, the various responses to these issues, and the literature to date. The book will be of special interest to philosophers of language and to those interested in metaphysics and the nature of fiction.« Minder Philosophers and theorists have long been puzzled by humans' ability to talk about things that do not exist, or to talk about things that they think exist but, in fact, do not. Empty Names, Fiction, and the Puzzles of Non-Existence is a collection of 13 new works concerning the semantic and metaphysical issues arising from empty names, non-existence, and the nature of fiction. The contributors include some of the most important researchers working in these fields. Some of the papers develop and defend new positions on these matters, while others offer important new perspectives and criticisms of the existing approaches. The volume contains a comprehensive introductory essay by the editors, which provides a survey of the philosophical issues concerning empty names, the various responses to these issues, and the literature on the subject to date. Much Ado About Nothing / Anthony Everett, Thomas Hofweber -- Pleonastic Fregianism And Empty Names / Stephen Schiffer -- Emptiness Without Compromise / Kenneth A. Taylor -- Referentialism And Empty Names / Anthony Everett -- On Myth / Avrom Faderman -- Existence As Metaphor? / Kendall Walton -- Negative Existentials / Fred Kroon -- Pretense Theory And Abstract Object Theory / Edward N. Zalta -- Making Up Stories / Harry Deutsch -- Real People In Unreal Contexts / Stacie Friend -- Semantic Pretense / Mark Richard -- Quantification And Fictional Discourse / Peter Van Inwagen -- Quantification And Non-existent Objects / Thomas Hofweber -- A Paradox Of Existence / Stephen Yablo. Edited By Anthony Everett & Thomas Hofweber. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 313-321) And Index.