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Stroud on Logical Necessity and General Facts of Nature

  • Frederik Gierlinger EMAIL logo
From the journal Conceptus

Abstract

What makes the denial of a necessary truth impossible or unintelligible? Barry Stroud argues that there is an answer to this question which avoids Platonism, yet does not force us to adopt Conventionalism about logical necessity. In Part 1, I give a brief characterization of Platonism and Conventionalism and sketch some of the difficulties that arise when trying to explain logical necessity along either of those lines. In Part 2, I will summarize the main points of what Stroud has to say on the matter and raise what I believe to be serious difficulties for his account.

Bibliography

Dummett, Michael (1959): “Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Mathematics”. In: Philosophical Review 68, pp. 324–348.10.1007/978-1-349-15269-8_16Search in Google Scholar

Stroud, Barry (1965): “Wittgenstein on Logical Necessity”. In: Philosophical Review 74, pp. 504–518. Reprinted in: Barry Stroud (2000): Meaning, Understanding, and Practice. Philosophical Essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.2307/2183126Search in Google Scholar

Wittgenstein, Ludwig (1956): Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics. Edited by Georg Henrik von Wright/Rush Rhees/G. E. M. Anscombe. Transl. by G. E. M. Anscombe. Oxford: Blackwell, 1956; 2nd edition, 1967; 3rd edition, 1978.Search in Google Scholar

Wittgenstein, Ludwig (2009): Philosophical Investigations. Revised 4th edition. Edited by P. M. S. Hacker/Joachim Schulte. Transl. by G. E. M. Anscombe. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2017-1-3
Published in Print: 2017-1-1

© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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