Premium
What is the Manifestation Argument?
Author(s) -
Miller Alexander
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
pacific philosophical quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.914
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1468-0114
pISSN - 0279-0750
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0114.00155
Subject(s) - wright , realism , argument (complex analysis) , philosophy , epistemology , critical realism (philosophy of perception) , art history , history , biochemistry , chemistry
I consider the well known “manifestation challenge” to semantic realism propounded by Michael Dummett, and further developed by Crispin Wright and Bob Hale. I distinguish between strong and weak versions of the challenge, and show that anti–realists effectively concede that realism can meet the strong version. I then argue that the weak version is unmotivated. Building on work by John McDowell and Peter Strawson, and responding to criticisms from Wright, I argue further that the semantic realist can meet even the weak version. It emerges, inter alia , that there are some serious ambiguities in the standard anti–realist characterisations of semantic realism.