Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Generics are sentences that are not explicitly quantified but still seems to express something general of their subjects. For instance, "Dogs bark" is a true generic and so is "Ducks lay eggs". What sets generics apart from quantified sentences is that their truth~conditions are very difficult to pin down. Although most dogs bark it is not the case that most ducks lay eggs because only fertile female ducks do. In spite of this "Ducks lay eggs" seems to be true. There are many different theories of generics. Two recent and promising theories that have not yet received much attention are those of Sarah-Jane Leslie and David Liebesman. In this paper I will suggest a framework for how to think about theories of generics in which I will synthesize Leslie's and Liebesman's theories by arguing that they are at different levels of description. I will also suggest some modifications to improve Leslie's theory.
Author: Elias Assarsson
Institution: Lund University
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1887888476