Posted by zeugma on August 29, 2005, at 23:00:46
In reply to Re: mystery of the missing indexical.. » alexandra_k, posted by zeugma on August 29, 2005, at 22:40:14
this is one of those terms that i obsess over late at night. I am terrible at grammar but am obsessed with it. Presumably a zero-place predicate is one that has no hole to fill. If [Z] exists in a world, then the function that [Z] represents is available for entry into statements made about [Z]. [Z] is just there. Intransitivive verb: one-place predicate: x breathes. Transitive verb: x loves y. The letters represent holes that must be filled before a statement can be made, or a sentence uttered. I suppose that 'zero-place predicates' (of which 'exists' is the only one of which I can think offhand) are a way of saying what Kant said: 'existence is not a predicate.' (I'm quoting secondhand.) Existence just means you can put it on the left-hand side of a copula (itself a term that does not really mean) so you can make a meaningful statement when a real predicate is appended.
-z
poster:zeugma
thread:541758
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/write/20050807/msgs/548533.html