Existential Import and Relations of Categorical and Modal Categorical Statements
Author(s) -
Jiří Raclavský
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
logic and logical philosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.416
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 2300-9802
pISSN - 1425-3305
DOI - 10.12775/llp.2017.026
Subject(s) - existentialism , modal , categorical variable , mathematics , epistemology , linguistics , philosophy , statistics , chemistry , polymer chemistry
I examine the familiar quadruple of categorical statements “Every F is/is not G.”, “Some F is/is not G.” as well as the quadruple of their modal versions “Necessarily, every F is/is not G.”, “Possibly, some F is/is not G.”. I focus on their existential import and its impact on the resulting Squares of Opposition. Though my construal of existential import follows modern approach, I add some extra details which are enabled by framing my definition of existential import within expressively rich higher-order partial type logic. As regards the modal categorical statements, I find that so-called void properties bring existential import to them, so they are the only properties which invalidate subalternation, and thus also contrariety and subcontrariety, in the corresponding Square of Opposition.
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