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Resemblance, Universals and Sorites: Comments on March on Sorting Out Sorites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2020

Fred Wilson*
Affiliation:
University College, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaM5S 1A1

Extract

In a recent paper, Peter March proposes to sort out the traditional sorites paradox by distinguishing two senses of ‘resemble.’ The paradox is generated in this way: we have the inference

  • (a) A is the same colour as B

  • (b) B is the same colour as C

Hence,

  • (c) A is the same colour as C

while also having

  • (d) A is not the same colour as C

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 1987

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References

1 March, P.Sorting Out Sorites,’ Canadian Journal of Philosophy 14 (1984), 445–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar

2 Cf.Wilson, F.The Role of a Principle of Acquaintance in Ontology,’ The Modern Schoolman, 47 (1969), 3756CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Also ‘Acquaintance, Ontology and Knowledge,’ The New Scholasticism 54 (1970), 1-48; and ‘Effability, Ontology and Method,’ Philosophy Research Archives 9 (1983), 419-70.

3 Cf.Campbell, N.R. The Foundations of Science (New York: Dover 1957), Ch. XVIGoogle Scholar.

4 Cf.Goodman, N. The Structure of Appearance (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 1951), 222ffGoogle Scholar. For a discussion of Goodman on matching, see Hausman, A.Goodman's Ontology,’ Ch. VIGoogle Scholar, in Hausman, A. and Wilson, F. Carnap and Goodman: Two Formalists (The Hague: Nijhoff 1967)Google Scholar.

5 Cf.Carnap, R. Introduction to Symbolic Logic (New York: Dover 1956), 136ffGoogle Scholar.

6 Butchvarov, P. Resemblance and Identity (Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana Press 1966), 115ffGoogle Scholar.

7 Grossman, R. Ontological Reduction (Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana Press 1973), 186ffGoogle Scholar.