If existence is a property of concepts, so that, when a concept "exists", what turns out to be the case is that SOMETHING falls under it, then to say of a concept itself, that there is that concept, we will have to say, really, that the concept of that concept exists, since the original concept, if there is any such thing, must fall under the ( Read more... )

People make the following sort of claim, that a species of plant, for instance, employed a certain "evolutionary strategy" to get where it is today. Tulips, in the example I have before my mind, have survived and thrived by means of their beauty ( Read more... )

The question is, what is it that is predicated of an object ( Read more... )

Subjects and predicates are parts of complete expressions. It is, however, difficult to define them independently. For the subject of a complete expression is that part of it which signifies what is being talked about, whereas the predicate of a complete expression is that part of it which signifies what is said about it. But to say that a ( Read more... )

Something is predicable just in case it CAN be a predicate. How, then, do we know if something CAN be a predicate? Something can be a predicate, it seems, if there exists a meaningful statement in which it IS a predicate. How, then, do we know that there exists a meaningful statement in which something is a predicate ( Read more... )

What does it mean to say of a thing that it exists -- that it is? What is it for a thing to be? This seems to me an intelligible question. For some things are not. The sky is not red -- it is not the case that the sky is red. Likewise, one can readily frame the hypothesis that there are no unicorns. What is it for unicorns not to be ( Read more... )

What do I do? In the mornings, I drink coffee and eat oatmeal. Normally, I get high. Sometimes, at night, I have a glass or two of wine. I don't exercise enough, though I do get out -- my hunger drives me out. No one ever leaves his house except he is hungry. People go out, people move, people survive because of some desire, on their part, to ( Read more... )

Who am I? That's a question people ask themselves, from time to time. Or at least, they ask it of someone else, "Who are you?" And often what they want to know is, what is the person's name, or what does he do, or where is he from? I mean, these are all things we would want to know about a person if we were wondering who he was. And I would ( Read more... )

How to deconstruct a text ( Read more... )

I will become nothing ( Read more... )