Generics: A Philosophical Introduction
نویسنده
چکیده
As remarked in the Introduction to this volume, there are two different phenomena that have been comprehended under the title of ‘generics’: (a) reference to kinds and (b) some statements of generality. Reference to kinds is a feature of (some) noun phrases, since it is (some) NPs that can accomplish reference. Meanwhile, generic statements involve an entire sentence, since it is entire sentences, or at least entire clauses, that can make truth-claims. The two types can occur together because one uses generic statements tell of a regularity that holds across individuals of a kind, and one way to state such a regularity is to predicate it directly of the kind. Thus we might see a number of polar bears that are white, and none that are of any other color. One way to express one’s feeling that this is “generically true” of polar bears is to attribute the property whiteness to the kind, Ursus Maritimus, and say The polar bear is a white animal. We can see already one of the many
منابع مشابه
Philosophical Perspectives , 26 , Philosophy of Mind , 2012 CONCEPTS , ANALYSIS , GENERICS AND THE CANBERRA PLAN 1
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