Reconstructing Theories of “Proposition” and “State Of Affairs” on the Basis of the Ideas of John Pollock

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Abstract

Our main aim in this article is to analyze the two concepts “proposition” and “state of affairs”. First we present the minimal expectations of a theory of “proposition” and a theory of “state of affairs”, and then we turn to the views of the contemporary theorist John Pollock regarding these two topics and present the most important of his views on the subject. Subsequently, we reconstruct a theory of “proposition” and a theory of “state of affairs” on the basis of Pollock's ideas. According to this reconstructed theory, “propositions” and “states of affairs” are necessary mind-independent entities such that the senses of “logical operators”, “concepts” and “designators” can be their constituents. These constituents, by being arranged in a particular logical form, form propositions or states of affairs. There is no ontological difference between a proposition and a state of affairs, but rather they only differ in their logical forms. At the end of the article we evaluate the power of our theory in satisfying the minimal expectations for a theory of “propositions” and “states of affairs”.

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