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    The 'that'-clause in 'Sammy believes that snow is powdere... — Carmelics
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    Home/Philosophy of Language
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    The 'that'-clause in 'Sammy believes that snow is powdered sugar' refers to a real object even though snow is not powdered sugar

    Philosophy of Language
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    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.The sentence 'Sammy believes that snow is powdered sugar' could be true (e.g., if Sammy is seven years old and mistaken)
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    • 2.By the criterion of ontological commitment, if a sentence is true, its singular terms refer to real objects
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    • 3.'That snow is powdered sugar' is a singular term (a 'that'-clause) in that sentence
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
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    • 1.That-clauses in belief reports are syncategorematic expressions that contribute to sentential meaning without independently denoting objects.
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    • 2.Frege's context principle shows grammatical noun-phrase status does not entail singular-term status in the logically relevant sense.
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    • 3.Quine's criterion of ontological commitment applies to regimented first-order quantificational logic, not to surface grammatical form in natural language.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
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    • 1.The truth of 'Sammy believes that P' is fully explicable via adverbial or relational accounts that quantify only over agents and worlds, not proposition-objects.
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    • 2.Schiffer's 'language-created' entities and Ryle's category-mistake arguments show apparent reference to propositions may reflect logical grammar confusion rather than genuine ontological commitment.
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    Topics

    Philosophy of Language

    Connections

    2 topics

    Truth & Knowledge1 linkedModality & Possibility1 linked

    Related

    'That snow is powdered sugar' is a singular term (a 'that'-clause) in that sente...By the criterion of ontological commitment, if a sentence is true, its singular ...Frege's context principle shows grammatical noun-phrase status does not entail s...Quine's criterion of ontological commitment applies to regimented first-order qu...
    +4 moreShow less
    Schiffer's 'language-created' entities and Ryle's category-mistake arguments sho...That-clauses in belief reports are syncategorematic expressions that contribute ...The sentence 'Sammy believes that snow is powdered sugar' could be true (e.g., i...

    Similar

    'That snow is powdered sugar' is a singular term (a 'that'-clause) in ...91%Fictionalists can hold that sentences like 'Clinton believes that snow...86%Many belief ascriptions containing 'that'-clauses are true (e.g., 'Cli...85%The sentence 'Sammy believes that snow is powdered sugar' could be tru...81%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: platonism
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    But if ‘that’-clauses are singular terms, what sorts of objects do they refer to? Well, it might seem that they refer to facts, or states of affairs. For instance, it might seem that ‘that snow is white’ refers to the fact that snow is white. This, however, is a mistake (at least in connection with the ‘that’-clauses that appear in belief reports). For since beliefs can be false, it follows that the ‘that’-clauses in our belief reports refer to things that can be false. E.g., if Sammy is seven y
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    The truth of 'Sammy believes that P' is fully explicable via adverbial or relati...
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit