Words without Objects: Semantics, Ontology, and Logic for Non-Singularity

by Henry Laycock

Overview

A picture of the world as chiefly one of discrete objects, distributed in space and time, has sometimes seemed compelling. It is however one of the main targets of Henry Laycock's book; for it is seriously incomplete. The picture, he argues, leaves no space for "stuff" like air and water. With discrete objects, we may always ask "how many?," but with stuff the question has to be "how much?" Laycock's fascinating exploration also addresses key logical and linguistic questions about the way we categorize the many and the much.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199281718
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/01/2006
Pages:	222
Product dimensions:	21.80(w) x 14.40(h) x 2.20(d)

About the Author

Queen's University, Ontario

Table of Contents

Introduction1. A proposed semantical solution to the so-called 'problem of mass nouns'2. In thrall to the idea of The One3. Non-count descriptions and non-singularity4. Quantification and its discontents5. The Ideal Language project and the non-discreteAppendix I: AtomismAppendix II: Substances and physical objects: Quine's labyrinthAppendix III: Reductive approaches to non-singularityAppendix IV: The gradual transition from count nouns to pure non-count nouns

Editorial Reviews

"WWO is an enjoyable polemic that grapples with some of the interesting and confusing issues of non-singularity, bringing semantic, ontic and logical considerations to bear on the puzzling phenomenon of non-singular nouns.... Words Without Objects is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in some of the philosophical considerations regarding the many and the much. ...the book contains some very insightful and interesting arguments about a very difficult topic, and provides some delightful philosophical back-story."—Adam Sennet, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

From the Publisher