Leibniz on Truth and Contingency

1978 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 83-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles E. Jarrett
Keyword(s):  
Truth Conditions ◽  
Semantical Theory ◽  
The Subject

Leibniz’ principal doctrine of truth is an attempt to set out the truth-conditions for a certain syntactically-defined class of propositions. As such, it constitutes an attempt to provide at least one portion of a semantical theory. The doctrine itself is found for example in Elementa Calculi:Every true categorical proposition, affirmative and universal, signifies nothing but a certain connection between the predicate and the subject… This connection is such that the predicate is said to be in the subject, or to be contained in it, and this either absolutely and viewed in itself, or in some particular case. Or in the same way, the subject is said to contain the predicate; that is, the notion of the subject, either in itself or with some addition, involves the notion of the predicate.It is clear, from this work as well as from “First Truths” and “On Freedom”, that the doctrine is not restricted to universal affirmatives, but applies as well to particular affirmatives.

Aristotelian Predicables, Universality and Realism

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (38) ◽  
pp. 7-31
Author(s):  
Giampaolo Abbate ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Truth Conditions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Many

Aristotle is reportedly held to have been a Moderate Realist in that he would maintain that a concept derives from an act of grasping a mind-independent universal object that exists somehow inside of the many different things which the concept is predicated of. As far as a universal is independent of mind, it would stand for the proper object of a concept that subsumes a given number of things as its own instantiations. But we claim that Aristotle rejected such a view and instead did perceive and comprehend universality as a feature of thought rather than as a feature of reality in its own right. As showed in the chapters of Topics regarding the so-called logic of comparison (with the support of Albert the Great’s commentary), each predicate can be more or less consistent with the attribute of the subject of which it may be predicated. Both essential and accidental attributes assume a definite degree of being related to the degree of belonging to substance. Unlike particular things, the universality of a concept is to be understood always in comparison with another concept according to a hierarchy of predicates in terms of universality degree arranged by comparative terms such as ‘more’ (μἂλλον), ‘less’ (ἧττον), and ‘likewise ’ (όμοίως). What is really mind-independent are the truth conditions which make a universal true when exclusively referring to a set of things identically meant by the same predicate whose universality is given by the place occupied in the hierarchy of predicates.

The Semantics of Spanish Permission Sentences

2000 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 89-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Gutiérrez-Rexach
Keyword(s):  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Truth Conditions ◽  
Basic Meaning ◽  
Dynamic Perspective ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Existential Quantification

Abstract. In this paper the formal semantics of Spanish directive verbs, especially permissive deontic verbs, is studied. A dynamic perspective is adopted in which the meaning of an expression is not its truth conditions but its discourse update potential. The paper focuses on the following aspects of directive permission verbs: the analysis of their basic meaning in contrast with other modals; aspectual and temporal restrictions on the complements of permission verbs; restrictions on the subject of permission verbs; combinations of modals; and conjunction and disjunction of permission statements. A unified account is presented in a dynamic modal framework. An action is conceived of as a program expression denoting a set of sequences of states. Each sequence represents an execution of the action. Modal (directive) verbs are treated as operators introducing universal or existential quantification over sequences of states.

The Logical Study of Language

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Soames
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Representational Content ◽  
Bertrand Russell ◽  
Gottlob Frege ◽  
Symbolic Logic ◽  
Truth Conditions ◽  
Logical Study ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Sense And Reference ◽  
Semantic Properties

This chapter discusses the foundations of philosophical semantics, covering the work of Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell. Frege, along with Russell, did more than anyone else to create the subject. The development of symbolic logic, the analysis of quantification, the application of logical ideas and techniques to the semantics of natural language, the distinction between sense and reference, the linking of representational content to truth conditions, and the compositional calculation of the contents of compound expressions from the semantic properties of their parts are all due to Frege and Russell. Philosophy of language, as we know it today, would not exist without them.

scholarly journals preprint

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Scott Phillips
Keyword(s):  
False Belief ◽  
False Beliefs ◽  
Truth Conditions ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Future Work ◽  
The Relationship

A common approach to knowledge wh is to try to reduce it to knowledge that, and in particular to answer-knowledge. On this view, the truth-conditions of a knowledge wh ascription can be given entirely in terms of which answers to the embedded question the subject knows. Against this background, this paper considers the phenomenon of false-belief sensitivity—a challenge to this common approach to knowledge wh that has recently received a fair amount of attention in the question embedding literature. We present a series of experiments that help bring the empirical standing of this phenomenon into focus. Across six experiments, our results provide evidence that truth judgments of knowledge wh ascriptions are affected by both the presence of false beliefs and the proportion of the subject’s beliefs that are false. Collectively, these results demonstrate a pattern of judgments that is incompatible with standard accounts of the relationship between knowledge that and knowledge wh, and with reducibility more generally. After presenting these new data, we end by considering the theoretical implications of this richer descriptive picture and outline a number of remaining open questions that should be pursued in future work.

Words

PMLA ◽  
1935 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 1320-1327
Author(s):  
Colbert Searles
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Assistant Professor ◽  
The Subject

THE germ of that which follows came into being many years ago in the days of my youth as a university instructor and assistant professor. It was generated by the then quite outspoken attitude of colleagues in the “exact sciences”; the sciences of which the subject-matter can be exactly weighed and measured and the force of its movements mathematically demonstrated. They assured us that the study of languages and literature had little or nothing scientific about it because: “It had no domain of concrete fact in which to work.” Ergo, the scientific spirit was theirs by a stroke of “efficacious grace” as it were. Ours was at best only a kind of “sufficient grace,” pleasant and even necessary to have, but which could, by no means ensure a reception among the elected.

Artificial satellite orbit computations

1966 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 363-371
Author(s):  
P. Sconzo
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Satellite ◽  
Satellite Orbit ◽  
Artificial Satellites ◽  
Orbital Elements ◽  
Differential Correction ◽  
Gravitational Effects ◽  
Short Intervals ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Introductory Discussion ◽  
Orbit Computation

In this paper an orbit computation program for artificial satellites is presented. This program is operational and it has already been used to compute the orbits of several satellites.After an introductory discussion on the subject of artificial satellite orbit computations, the features of this program are thoroughly explained. In order to achieve the representation of the orbital elements over short intervals of time a drag-free perturbation theory coupled with a differential correction procedure is used, while the long range behavior is obtained empirically. The empirical treatment of the non-gravitational effects upon the satellite motion seems to be very satisfactory. Numerical analysis procedures supporting this treatment and experience gained in using our program are also objects of discussion.

C. Wire Cabling for Telescope Systems

1966 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 159-161
Keyword(s):  
The Subject ◽  
Data Multiplexing

Rule: I'd like at this point to bring up the subject of cables and wireways around the telescope. We've touched upon this twice during previous sessions: the cable wrap up problem, the communications problem, and data multiplexing problem. I think we'll ask Bill Baustian if he will give us a brief run down on what the electrical run problems are, besides doubling the system every year.

The relationship of the scleractinian corals to the rugose corals

Paleobiology ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 6 (02) ◽  
pp. 146-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Critical Points ◽  
Scleractinian Corals ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
Early Triassic ◽  
Rugose Corals ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Biologic Factors

The Mesozoic-Cenozoic coral Order Scleractinia has been suggested to have originated or evolved (1) by direct descent from the Paleozoic Order Rugosa or (2) by the development of a skeleton in members of one of the anemone groups that probably have existed throughout Phanerozoic time. In spite of much work on the subject, advocates of the direct descent hypothesis have failed to find convincing evidence of this relationship. Critical points are:(1) Rugosan septal insertion is serial; Scleractinian insertion is cyclic; no intermediate stages have been demonstrated. Apparent intermediates are Scleractinia having bilateral cyclic insertion or teratological Rugosa.(2) There is convincing evidence that the skeletons of many Rugosa were calcitic and none are known to be or to have been aragonitic. In contrast, the skeletons of all living Scleractinia are aragonitic and there is evidence that fossil Scleractinia were aragonitic also. The mineralogic difference is almost certainly due to intrinsic biologic factors.(3) No early Triassic corals of either group are known. This fact is not compelling (by itself) but is important in connection with points 1 and 2, because, given direct descent, both changes took place during this only stage in the history of the two groups in which there are no known corals.

Direct Observations of the Epitaxial Growth of Sputtered Ag on Si

1973 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 122-123
Author(s):  
J. S. Maa ◽  
Thos. E. Hutchinson
Keyword(s):  
Epitaxial Growth ◽  
Film Growth ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam Sputtering ◽  
Microscopy Technique ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
In Situ Electron Microscopy ◽  
Beam Sputtering ◽  
The Subject

The growth of Ag films deposited on various substrate materials such as MoS2, mica, graphite, and MgO has been investigated extensively using the in situ electron microscopy technique. The three stages of film growth, namely, the nucleation, growth of islands followed by liquid-like coalescence have been observed in both the vacuum vapor deposited and ion beam sputtered thin films. The mechanisms of nucleation and growth of silver films formed by ion beam sputtering on the (111) plane of silicon comprise the subject of this paper. A novel mode of epitaxial growth is observed to that seen previously.The experimental arrangement for the present study is the same as previous experiments, and the preparation procedure for obtaining thin silicon substrate is presented in a separate paper.

Effects of Hyperoxia on Lung Utrastructure

1970 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 26-27
Author(s):  
Gladys Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Light Microscopy ◽  
Oxygen Effects ◽  
Age Dependent ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Space Age ◽  
Alveolar Septa ◽  
Extensive Damage

With the advent of the space age and the need to determine the requirements for a space cabin atmosphere, oxygen effects came into increased importance, even though these effects have been the subject of continuous research for many years. In fact, Priestly initiated oxygen research when in 1775 he published his results of isolating oxygen and described the effects of breathing it on himself and two mice, the only creatures to have had the “privilege” of breathing this “pure air”.Early studies had demonstrated the central nervous system effects at pressures above one atmosphere. Light microscopy revealed extensive damage to the lungs at one atmosphere. These changes which included perivascular and peribronchial edema, focal hemorrhage, rupture of the alveolar septa, and widespread edema, resulted in death of the animal in less than one week. The severity of the symptoms differed between species and was age dependent, with young animals being more resistant.

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