Abstract
NPs with intensional relative clauses such as the impact of the book John needs to write pose a significant challenge for trope theory (the theory of particularized properties), since they seem to refer to tropes that lack an actual bearer. I will propose a novel semantic analysis of such NPs on the basis of the notion of a variable object. This analysis avoids a range of difficulties that an alternative analysis based on the notion of an individual concept would face.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Aristotle: The Categories
Campbell, K.: Abstract Particulars. Blackwell, Oxford (1990)
Fine, K.: Things and Their Parts. Midwest Studies of Philosophy 23, 61–74 (1999)
Grosu, A., Krifka, M.: The Gifted Mathematician that you Claim to be. Linguistics and Philosophy 30, 445–485 (2007)
Harves, S., Kayne, R.S.: Having need and needing have. Linguistic Inquiry (to appear)
Lowe, J.: The Four-Category Ontology. A Metaphysics Foundation for Natural Science. Oxford UP (2006)
Mertz, D.W.: Moderate Realism and Its Logic. Yale UP, New Haven (1996)
Moltmann, F.: Intensional Verbs and Quantifiers. Natural Language Semantics 5(1), 1–52 (1997)
Moltmann, F.: Intensional Verbs and Their Intentional Objects. Natural Language Semantics 16(3), 239–270 (2008)
Moltmann, F.: Degree Structure as Trope Structure: A Trope-Based Analysis of Comparative and Positive Adjectives. Linguistics and Philosophy 32, 51–94 (2009)
Moltmann, F.: Reference to Numbers in Natural Language. Philosophical Studies (to appear)
Montague, R.: The Proper Treatment of Quantification in Ordinary English. In: Hintikka, J., et al. (eds.) Approaches to Natural Language, Reidel, Dordrecht (1973)
Strawson, P.: Individuals. An Essay in Descriptive Metaphysics. Methuen, London (1959)
Williams, D.C.: On the Elements of Being. Review of Metaphysics 7, 3–18 (1953)
Woltersdorff, N.: On Universals. Chicago UP, Chicago (1970)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Moltmann, F. (2012). Tropes, Intensional Relative Clauses, and the Notion of a Variable Object. In: Aloni, M., Kimmelman, V., Roelofsen, F., Sassoon, G.W., Schulz, K., Westera, M. (eds) Logic, Language and Meaning. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7218. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31482-7_44
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31482-7_44
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-31481-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-31482-7
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)