Facets of Reality — Contemporary Debates. Beiträge der Österreichischen Ludwig Wittgenstein Gesellschaft / Contributions of the Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society. Band / Vol. XXX
Year: 2024
Type: book
Abstract: This paper considers the predicament of someone who is puzzled about a facet of reality: in this case, composition.What language would be best for working through their puzzlement?Four options are considered: Ontologese, a language stipulated to hew to the fundamental metaphysical facts; Ordinary English, the vehicle of everyday speech; Theorese, a maximally expansive language designed to accommodate reference to an unconstrained abundance of objects; and Logic, which is to say any well-defined and understood formal language.Methodological doubts are raised about each of the first three in turn.Ontologese is overly focused on simplicity, and risks ignoring much of our relevant evidence; Ordinary English is overly-focused on common sense, and risks discarding theoretical elegance; Theorese is overly-focused on explanatory power, and risks discarding theoretical simplicity.Logic, meanwhile, achieves an ideal balance between all of these theoretical virtues, inheriting the strengths and addressing the weaknesses of its rivals.Concerns that it risks changing the subject are answered.Wanda is puzzled about some facet of reality: the way that bricks and mortar can sometimes make a house, roots and branches a tree.'What', as Wanda expresses her puzzlement, 'is going on here?What is composition?'Wanda wants to work through her confusion towards understanding, but recognises that this topic is so puzzling that it requires a great deal of delicacy even in framing the questions, let alone finding answers.What are the right words?Is she so much as speaking the right language?This paper will consider four different languages in which Wanda might choose to work out her puzzlement.First is Ontologese, a language stipulated to be maximally sensitive to underlying metaphysical reality.Then there is Ordinary English, supposed to be the language we all speak (at least, if we are native English speakers -others will have their own equivalents) outside of the specialised contexts set aside for discussion of such metaphysical questions.Another, more speculatively identified, is Theorese, a language stipulated to be maximally responsive to the demands of scientific enquiry.The fourth, an old answer which has made a recent resurgence with a new twist, is Logic: for these purposes, any well-defined and understood formal language.We will review a basic case for each language, and identify a guiding methodological principle with which it is associated.More critically, we will identify for each a hostage to theoretical fortune.But Wanda is most Siantonas Alec, "The Right Language for Real Metaphysics".In Beiträge der Österreichischen Ludwig Facets of Reality -Contemporary Debates.
Language: German
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7084309434