Abstract
Since universal language systems are confronted with serious paradoxical consequences, a semantic approach is developed in whichpartial worlds form the ontological basis. This approach shares withsituation semantics the basic idea that statements always refer to certain partial worlds, and it agrees with the extensional and model-theoretic character ofpossible worlds semantics. Within the framework of the partial worlds conception a satisfactory solution to theLiar paradox can be formulated. In particular, one advantage of this approach over those theories that are based on the totality of possible worlds semantics can be found in the fact that the so-called “Strengthened Liar problem” is avoided.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barwise, Jon and John Perry: 1983,Situations and Attitudes, Cambridge/London.
Barwise, Jon and John Etchemendy: 1987,The Liar. An Essay on Truth and Circularity, New York/Oxford.
Barwise, Jon: 1989, ‘The Situation in Logics’,CSLI Lecture Notes 17, Stanford.
Barwise, Jon: 1991, ‘Situationen und kleine Welten (Situations and Small Worlds)’, in Arnim von Stechow and Dieter Wunderlich (eds.),Semantik-Semantics. Ein internationales Handbuch der zeitgenössischen Forschung — An International Handbook of Contemporary Research, Berlin/New York.
Brendel, Elke: 1992,Die Wahrheit über den Lügner, Berlin/New York.
Essler, Wilhelm K.: 1988, ‘Open Philosophizing’,Erkenntnis 29, 149–167.
Grim, Patrick: 1991,The Incomplete Universe, Totality, Knowledge, and Truth, Cambridge/London.
Gupta, Anil: 1982, ‘Truth and Paradox’,Journal of Philosophical Logic 11, 1–60.
Kleene, Stephen C.: 1952,Introduction to Metamathematics, Amsterdam.
Kripke, Saul A.: 1975, ‘Outline of a Theory of Truth’,Journal of Philosophy 72, 690–716.
Mar, Gary R.: 1985,Liars, Truth-Gaps, and Truth: a Comparison of Formal and Philosophical Solutions to the Semantical Paradoxes, University Microfilms International: Ann Arbor Michigan, Dissertation, UCLA.
Martin, Robert L.: 1967, ‘Toward a Solution to the Liar Paradox’,Philosophical Review 76, 279–311.
Martin, Robert L.: 1970, ‘A Category Solution to the Liar’, in Robert L. Martin (ed.),The Paradox of the Liar, New Haven/London, pp. 91–112.
Priest, Graham: 1979, ‘The Logic of Paradox’,Journal of Philosophical Logic 8, 219–241.
Quine, W. V.: 1940,Mathematical Logic, Cambridge (41981).
Smullyan, Raymond M.: 1957, ‘Languages in Which Self-Reference is Possible’,Journal of Symbolic Logic 22, 55–67.
Tarski, Alfred: 1935, ‘Der Wahrheitsbegriff in den formalisierten Sprachen’,Studia Philosophica 1, 261–405; translation: ‘The Concept of Truth in Formalized Languages’,Logic, Semantics, Metamathematics, Oxford 1956, pp. 152–277.
Varga von Kibéd, Matthias and Elke Brendel: 1991, ‘Die situationssemantische Lösung der Lügner-Paradoxie von Barwise und Etchemendy’,Grazer Philosophische Studien 39, 165–194.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
I would like to thank Dirk Koppelberg for helpful remarks on an earlier draft of this paper. Special thanks to an anonymous referee for detailed comments.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brendel, E. Partial worlds and paradox. Erkenntnis 39, 191–208 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01128228
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01128228