Vagueness: Supervaluationism

Philosophy Compass 3 (2):315–324 (2008)
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Abstract

This piece gives an overview of the supervaluationist theory of vagueness. According to that theory, a sentence is true if and only if it is true on all ways of making it precise. This yields borderline case predications that are neither true nor false, but yet classical logic is preserved almost entirely. The article presents the view and some of its merits and briefly compares it with other theories of vagueness. It raises issues about higher-order vagueness and the definitely operator and about the supervaluationist's accounts of truth and validity.

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Rosanna Keefe
University of Sheffield

Citations of this work

Reflective equilibrium in logic.Ben Martin - 2024 - Synthese 203 (2):1-39.
Nonclassical Minds and Indeterminate Survival.J. Robert G. Williams - 2014 - Philosophical Review 123 (4):379-428.
Supervaluations and the Strict-Tolerant Hierarchy.Brian Porter - 2021 - Journal of Philosophical Logic 51 (6):1367-1386.
Gesture projection and cosuppositions.Philippe Schlenker - 2018 - Linguistics and Philosophy 41 (3):295-365.

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References found in this work

Quotation.Herman Cappelen, Ernest Lepore & Matthew McKeever - forthcoming - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Vagueness.Delia Graff & Timothy Williamson (eds.) - 1994 - London and New York: Ashgate.
Vagueness, truth and logic.Kit Fine - 1975 - Synthese 30 (3-4):265-300.
General semantics.David K. Lewis - 1970 - Synthese 22 (1-2):18--67.
Theories of Vagueness.Rosanna Keefe - 2000 - New York: Cambridge University Press.

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