Language, thought and the epistemic theory of vagueness

Frank Jackson

doi:10.1016/S0271-5309(02)00007-1

Language, thought and the epistemic theory of vagueness

Frank Jackson^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

There are borderline cases of baldness, cases where we are in principle unable to say whether or not a subject is or is not bald. According to the epistemic theory of vagueness, when X is on the borderline, 'X is bald' either is true or is false, and X either definitely is or definitely is not bald, though we cannot determine which it is. There is, that is, such a thing as the correct verdict but we cannot tell which one it is. I argue that the role of language in communicating our thought about how things are makes a strong argument against this theory.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	269-279
Number of pages	11
Journal	Language and Communication
Volume	22
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5309(02)00007-1
Publication status	Published - 2002

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AB - There are borderline cases of baldness, cases where we are in principle unable to say whether or not a subject is or is not bald. According to the epistemic theory of vagueness, when X is on the borderline, 'X is bald' either is true or is false, and X either definitely is or definitely is not bald, though we cannot determine which it is. There is, that is, such a thing as the correct verdict but we cannot tell which one it is. I argue that the role of language in communicating our thought about how things are makes a strong argument against this theory.

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UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/23744476075

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DO - 10.1016/S0271-5309(02)00007-1

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Language, thought and the epistemic theory of vagueness

Abstract

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