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TAKING SOME OF THE MYSTERY OUT OF OMISSIONS
Author(s) -
Zimmerman Michael J.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
the southern journal of philosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.281
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 2041-6962
pISSN - 0038-4283
DOI - 10.1111/j.2041-6962.1981.tb01456.x
Subject(s) - value (mathematics) , citation , action (physics) , sociology , epistemology , philosophy , library science , computer science , physics , quantum mechanics , machine learning
Philosophers often talk of acts of omission, but such talk is immediately puzzling; for omissions (of all sorts) appear to be paradigms of not-doing rather than doing, even though no omission is merely a not-doing. But, as I shall seek to show, although talk of acts of omission is frequently misleading, it is not altogether inappropriate and is not to be eschewed, as some would argue.