4. Descriptions and existence: did the Greeks worship Zeus?

2017 ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
Graham Priest
Keyword(s):  
Proper Names ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Definite Description ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Definite Descriptions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
Mathematics And Physics

There is a certain kind of phrase that can be the subject of a sentence. This is a definite description. Generally, descriptions have the form: the thing satisfying such and such a condition. ‘Descriptions and existence: did the Greeks worship Zeus?’ examines definite descriptions, how they can be combined with predicates to make whole sentences, and examples of how logic can be used. Descriptions are names, not quantifiers, as they usually refer to objects. However, descriptions are a special kind of name. Unlike proper names like ‘Annika’ or ‘the Big Bang’, they carry information about the object referred to and are often central to important arguments in mathematics and physics.

scholarly journals KAIP APIBRĖŽIAMOSIOS DESKRIPCIJOS VARTOJAMOS SINGULIARINIAMS TEIGINIAMS IŠREIKŠTI?

Problemos ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 130-140
Author(s):  
Evgeny Borisov
Keyword(s):  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Definite Description ◽  
Definite Descriptions ◽  
Singular Proposition ◽  
Possible World ◽  
Possible World Semantics ◽  
Singular Propositions ◽  
Subject Term ◽  
The Subject

Straipsnyje keliamas klausimas: kokios sąlygos turi būti patenkintos, kad, ištarę sakinį su apibrėžiamąja deskripcija kaip sakinio subjektu, mes išreikštume singuliarinį teiginį (Kaplano prasme). Autorius teigia, kad Wettsteino įsitikinimas, jog teiginio singuliariškumas nustatomas ištarimo metu nurodant apibrėžiamosios deskripcijos referentą, yra nenuoseklus. Straipsnyje siūlomas kitas singuliariškumo kriterijus: teiginys yra singuliarinis, jeigu jame dalyvaujanti apibrėžiamoji deskripcija įvertinama vieninteliame galimame pasaulyje, o jeigu apibrėžiamoji deskripcija turi būti įvertinta daugiau nei vieno galimo pasaulio atžvilgiu, tai teiginys yra bendrasis (general). Šis kriterijus veiksmingas aiškinant kontroversiškus atvejus – kai išreiškiame teisingą singuliarinį teiginį, kurio subjekto dėmuo nedera su apibrėžiamąja deskripcija, pavartota ištartame sakinyje.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: apibrėžiamoji deskripcija, nuoroda, singuliarinis ir bendrasis teiginys, galimų pasaulių semantika. How Do We Use Definite Descriptions to Express Singular Propositions?Evgeny Borisov AbstractThe paper is devoted to the question: under what conditions do we express a singular proposition (in the Kaplanian sense) when uttering a sentence containing a definite description as the subject term. It is argued that Wettstein’s claim that singularity of a proposition is determined by the demonstration of the referent of definite description accompanying the utterance contains an inconsistency. An alternative criterion of singularity is proposed: we express a singular proposition if the definite description in question is to be evaluated at a single possible world, and we express a general one if the definite description in question is to be evaluated at a range of possible worlds. This criterion is effective in explaining controversial cases in which we manage to express a true singular proposition with a subject constituent that does not fit the definite description used in the utterance.Keywords: definite description, reference, singular and general propositions, possible world semantics

A Mathematico-Physical Understanding of the Not-Being Potential and Creation of Parallel Universes by the Energy of Consciousness in Life Forms

2019 ◽  
pp. 140-157
Author(s):  
Changsoo Shin ◽  
Nami Lee
Keyword(s):  
Life Forms ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Physical Point ◽  
Parallel Universes ◽  
Mathematical Formulas ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Infinite Temperature

This chapter approaches the subject of the not-being potential that created the universe from a mathematical and physical point of view. It postulates that the not-being potential existed prior to the Big Bang, the energy that was produced from the not-being potential to the being became a highly dense cosmic egg. This cosmic egg of infinite temperature exploded to create the current universe. This assumption is demonstrated by mathematical formulas and physics laws, which provide a solid scientific foundation for the aforementioned theory. Consequently, the authors show that the transformation of life forms' unconsciousness into consciousness creates parallel universes in a similar way by which the nor-being potential creates the universe.

scholarly journals president and the man on the street: definite descriptions and proper names across possible situations

2006 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-299
Author(s):  
Daniel Rothschild
Keyword(s):  
Proper Names ◽  
Definite Description ◽  
Definite Descriptions ◽  
Modal Argument ◽  
Semantic Types

Kripke's "modal argument" uses consideration about scope within modal contexts to show that proper names and definite descriptions must be of two different semantic types. I reexamine the data that is used to motivate Kripke's argument, and suggest that it, in fact, indicates that proper names behave exactly like a certain type of definite description, which I call "particularized" descriptions.  

A view of the universe before the big bang

2006 ◽  
Vol 190 ◽  
pp. 15-15
Author(s):  
D CASTELVECCHI
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

The First Galaxies in the Universe

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham Loeb ◽  
Steven R. Furlanetto
Keyword(s):  
Galaxy Evolution ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
First Stars ◽  
Distant Galaxies ◽  
Formation And Evolution ◽  
Early Galaxies ◽  
First Galaxies ◽  
Large Telescopes ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The Big Bang

This book provides a comprehensive, self-contained introduction to one of the most exciting frontiers in astrophysics today: the quest to understand how the oldest and most distant galaxies in our universe first formed. Until now, most research on this question has been theoretical, but the next few years will bring about a new generation of large telescopes that promise to supply a flood of data about the infant universe during its first billion years after the big bang. This book bridges the gap between theory and observation. It is an invaluable reference for students and researchers on early galaxies. The book starts from basic physical principles before moving on to more advanced material. Topics include the gravitational growth of structure, the intergalactic medium, the formation and evolution of the first stars and black holes, feedback and galaxy evolution, reionization, 21-cm cosmology, and more.

The Planet in a Pebble

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Zalasiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Mineral Matter ◽  
Supernova Explosions ◽  
Deep Underground ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

This is the story of a single pebble. It is just a normal pebble, as you might pick up on holiday - on a beach in Wales, say. Its history, though, carries us into abyssal depths of time, and across the farthest reaches of space. This is a narrative of the Earth's long and dramatic history, as gleaned from a single pebble. It begins as the pebble-particles form amid unimaginable violence in distal realms of the Universe, in the Big Bang and in supernova explosions and continues amid the construction of the Solar System. Jan Zalasiewicz shows the almost incredible complexity present in such a small and apparently mundane object. Many events in the Earth's ancient past can be deciphered from a pebble: volcanic eruptions; the lives and deaths of extinct animals and plants; the alien nature of long-vanished oceans; and transformations deep underground, including the creations of fool's gold and of oil. Zalasiewicz demonstrates how geologists reach deep into the Earth's past by forensic analysis of even the tiniest amounts of mineral matter. Many stories are crammed into each and every pebble around us. It may be small, and ordinary, this pebble - but it is also an eloquent part of our Earth's extraordinary, never-ending story.

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