Plurality and Paradox in Natural Language

Description of the Project

This is a collaborative project, primarily with Stewart Shapiro. There are two broad, interrelated themes. The first concerns the singularism/pluralism debate about plurals in natural language. Do plurals like 'the students' reference pluralities as things in their own right, or do they instead invoke a kind of primitive reference to multiple individuals at once? What is the formal relationship between two languages invoked (classical extensional mereology and plural logic)? Are they mere notational variants? Does one carry substantial ontological commitments lacking in the other? Are anti-singularist arguments of various sorts sound? The second theme of the project concerns paradox in natural language. Specifically, it concerns two areas within natural language semantics where paradox is threatened: group-formation and nominalization. Is it possible to formulate consistent theories of group-formation and nominalization which also respect the natural language evidence? Along with the publications listed below and more currently under review, we intend to submit a book proposal covering these topics very soon.

Research Relevant to the Project

The following publications are all relevant to this project:

• Groups, Sets, and Paradox

• Group Nouns and Pseudo-Singularity

• Mereological Singularism and Paradox

• Paradox in Natural Language Semantics

• Link's Revenge: A Case Study in Natural Language Mereology