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    If Strawson is correct, then 'Pedro's sister' in a contex... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Definite descriptions such as 'Pedro's sister' can be accommodated when no prior discourse referent is available.

    If Strawson is correct, then 'Pedro's sister' in a context without prior discourse referent produces presupposition failure, not successful accommodation.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Strawson argued that presuppositions fail when their truth conditions cannot be evaluated, not when hearers simply lack information.
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    • 2.Accommodation requires hearers to actively adopt new content; without prior discourse, no natural accommodation mechanism triggers.
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    • 3.Definite descriptions like 'Pedro's sister' semantically presuppose uniqueness and familiarity, both absent in null contexts.
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    Reasons Against

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    • 1.Hearers routinely accommodate novel presuppositions without prior discourse (e.g., 'The king of France is bald'), suggesting accommodation is default.
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    • 2.Strawson's presupposition failure predicts odd truth-value judgments; empirical evidence shows speakers evaluate such utterances straightforwardly.
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    • 3.Discourse context matters in degrees, not binary presence/absence; 'Pedro's sister' triggers accommodation in new contexts as readily as established ones.
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    Related

    Accommodation requires hearers to actively adopt new content; without prior disc...Definite descriptions like 'Pedro's sister' semantically presuppose uniqueness a...Definite descriptions such as 'Pedro's sister' can be accommodated when no prior...Discourse context matters in degrees, not binary presence/absence; 'Pedro's sist...
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    Hearers routinely accommodate novel presuppositions without prior discourse (e.g...Strawson argued that presuppositions fail when their truth conditions cannot be ...Strawson's presupposition failure predicts odd truth-value judgments; empirical ...

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
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