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(1991) Existence and explanation, Dordrecht, Springer.

Actualism, free logic and first-order supervaluations

Peter W. Woodruff

pp. 219-231

In [Woodruff 1984] I showed that the supervaluation semantics introduced by [Van Fraassen 1966a, b] for Lambert's system of free logic [Meyer and Lambert 1968] failed to have certain metatheoretic properties (compactness, upward and downward Löwenheim-Skolem, strong completeness and recursive axiomatizability) which attach to ordinary first-order logic. I also introduced the idea of secondary supervaluations, in which the class of conventions for asigning truth values to formulas with non-designating terms was restricted in some way or another. I was able to show that for a particular such restriction, the falsity condition (R(cx) false of all x when c doesn't denote), the desirable properties were regained. I speculated that the indifference condition (R(cx) true either of all or of no xwhen cdoesn't denote) would also suffice, and might be necessary.1

Publication details

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-011-3244-2_15

Full citation:

Woodruff, P. W. (1991)., Actualism, free logic and first-order supervaluations, in W. Spohn, B. Skyrms & B. C. Van Fraassen (eds.), Existence and explanation, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 219-231.

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