A Two-Tiered Theory of Generics: A Synthesis of Leslie's and Liebesman's Theories
(2012) FTEM02 20121Theoretical Philosophy
- Abstract
- Generics are sentences that are not explicitly quantified but still seems to express something general of their subjects. For instance, "Dogs bark" is a true generic and so is "Ducks lay eggs". What sets generics apart from quantified sentences is that their truth~conditions are very difficult to pin down. Although most dogs bark it is not the case that most ducks lay eggs because only fertile female ducks do. In spite of this "Ducks lay eggs" seems to be true. There are many different theories of generics. Two recent and promising theories that have not yet received much attention are those of Sarah-Jane Leslie and David Liebesman. In this paper I will suggest a framework for how to think about theories of generics in which I will... (More)
- Generics are sentences that are not explicitly quantified but still seems to express something general of their subjects. For instance, "Dogs bark" is a true generic and so is "Ducks lay eggs". What sets generics apart from quantified sentences is that their truth~conditions are very difficult to pin down. Although most dogs bark it is not the case that most ducks lay eggs because only fertile female ducks do. In spite of this "Ducks lay eggs" seems to be true. There are many different theories of generics. Two recent and promising theories that have not yet received much attention are those of Sarah-Jane Leslie and David Liebesman. In this paper I will suggest a framework for how to think about theories of generics in which I will synthesize Leslie's and Liebesman's theories by arguing that they are at different levels of description. I will also suggest some modifications to improve Leslie's theory. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/2799054
- author
- Assarsson, Elias LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- FTEM02 20121
- year
- 2012
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- philosophy of language, generics, habituals, truth conditions, logical form, inheritance
- language
- English
- id
- 2799054
- date added to LUP
- 2012-09-19 07:55:50
- date last changed
- 2012-09-19 07:55:50
@misc{2799054, abstract = {{Generics are sentences that are not explicitly quantified but still seems to express something general of their subjects. For instance, "Dogs bark" is a true generic and so is "Ducks lay eggs". What sets generics apart from quantified sentences is that their truth~conditions are very difficult to pin down. Although most dogs bark it is not the case that most ducks lay eggs because only fertile female ducks do. In spite of this "Ducks lay eggs" seems to be true. There are many different theories of generics. Two recent and promising theories that have not yet received much attention are those of Sarah-Jane Leslie and David Liebesman. In this paper I will suggest a framework for how to think about theories of generics in which I will synthesize Leslie's and Liebesman's theories by arguing that they are at different levels of description. I will also suggest some modifications to improve Leslie's theory.}}, author = {{Assarsson, Elias}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{A Two-Tiered Theory of Generics: A Synthesis of Leslie's and Liebesman's Theories}}, year = {{2012}}, }