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    Singular terms that fail to refer to existing objects fai... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→True propositions can be stated about non-existent objects.

    Singular terms that fail to refer to existing objects fail to express genuine propositions, yielding only apparent statements (Russell, 'On Denoting').

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Meaningful statements require determinate truth-conditions; non-referring terms cannot provide these, making truth-evaluation impossible.
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    • 2.The law of excluded middle demands every proposition is true or false; statements about non-existent objects violate this principle.
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    • 3.Russell's theory of descriptions successfully eliminates paradoxes (e.g., 'the present King of France') by analyzing them as quantified claims.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.We successfully understand and discuss fictional entities; denying this requires counterintuitive rejection of our actual cognitive practices.
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    • 2.Russell's theory cannot account for negative existentials like 'Pegasus does not exist'—which seem genuinely true and propositional.
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    • 3.Frege's sense-reference distinction shows non-referring terms can express complete thoughts with cognitive content, contra Russell.
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    Connections

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    Truth & Knowledge1 linkedPhilosophy of Language1 linked

    Related

    Frege's sense-reference distinction shows non-referring terms can express comple...Meaningful statements require determinate truth-conditions; non-referring terms ...Russell's theory cannot account for negative existentials like 'Pegasus does not...Russell's theory of descriptions successfully eliminates paradoxes (e.g., 'the p...
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    The law of excluded middle demands every proposition is true or false; statement...True propositions can be stated about non-existent objects.We successfully understand and discuss fictional entities; denying this requires...

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
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