DOUBTING THE TRUTH OF HUME'S PRINCIPLE

• Authors: Dozudic Dusan
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Hume's Principle (HP) states that for any two (sorted) concepts, F and G, the number of Fs is identical to the number of Gs if the Fs are one-one correlated with the Gs. Backed by second-order logic HP is supposed to be the starting point for the neo-logic program of the foundations of arithmetic. The principle brings a number of formal and philosophical controversies. In this paper author discusses some arguments against it brought out by Trobok, as well as by Potter and Smiley, designed to undermine a claim that HP and its instances (such as 'the number of the forks on the table is identical to the number of the knives on the table if the forks are one-one correlated with the knives') are true. Their criticism starts from distinguishing the objective truth from a weak or stipulated one, and focusing on fictional identities such as 'Hamlet = Hamlet' or 'Jekyll = Hyde.' They argue that numerical identities (as occur in instances of HP) are much the same as fictional identities; that we can attribute them only a weak or stipulated truth; and, consequently, that neo-logicists are not entitled to ontological conclusions concerning numbers they derive from HP and its instances. As opposed to that, the author argues that such a criticism is ill-conceived. The analogy between the numerical and fictional identities is far-fetched. So, relative to such a criticism, HP has more prospects than some authors are prepared to admit.

Keywords

EN

FICTIONAL IDENTITIES; HUME'S PRINCIPLE; LOGICAL TRUTH; MATHEMATICAL TRUTH; NEO-LOGICISM; NUMERICAL IDENTITY; OBJECTIVE TRUTH; REFERENCE; STIPULATED TRUTH

Discipline

• PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Institute of Philosophy of Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic
• Journal: Organon F. medzinárodný časopis pre analytickú filozofiu
• Year: 2010
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 269-287
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Dozudic Dusan

• Dusan Dozudic, University of Zagreb Centre for Croatian Studies, Department of Philosophy, Borongajska 83d, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

11SKAAAA09446