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dc.contributor.advisorHawley, Katherine (Katherine Jane)
dc.contributor.advisorNolan, Daniel
dc.contributor.authorBarnes, Elizabeth
dc.coverage.spatial232en
dc.date.accessioned2007-06-13T10:48:24Z
dc.date.available2007-06-13T10:48:24Z
dc.date.issued2007-06-20
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/348
dc.description.abstractThis thesis is a systematic investigation of whether there might be conceptual room for the idea that the world itself might be vague, independently of how we describe it. This idea – the existence of so-called ontic vagueness – has generally been extremely unpopular in the literature; my thesis thus seeks to evaluate whether this ‘negative press’ is justified. I start by giving a working definition and semantics for ontic vagueness, and then attempt to show that there are no conclusive arguments that rule out vagueness of this kind. I subsequently establish what type of arguments I think would be most effective in establishing ontic vagueness and provide some arguments of this form. I then highlight a potential worry for this type of argument, but argue that it can be circumvented. Finally, I consider the main ways that the opponent of ontic vagueness would be likely resist the arguments I have offered, and argue that these strategies of response are methodologically problematic. I conclude by claiming that ontic vagueness is a perfectly plausible ontological commitment.en
dc.format.extent826198 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity of St Andrews
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
dc.subjectOntic vaguenessen
dc.subject.lccB105.V3B2
dc.subject.lcshVagueness (Philosophy)en
dc.subject.lcshOntologyen
dc.titleConceptual room for ontic vaguenessen
dc.typeThesisen
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen
dc.type.qualificationnamePhD Doctor of Philosophyen
dc.publisher.institutionThe University of St Andrewsen


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