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(2007) Synthese 154 (1).
Vagueness is epistemic, according to some. Vagueness is ontological, according to others. This paper deploys what I take to be a compromise position. Predicates are coined in specific contexts for specific purposes, but these limited practices do not automatically fix the extensions of predicates over the domain of all objects. The linguistic community using the predicate has rarely considered, much less decided, all questions that might arise about the predicate’s extension. To this extent, the ontological view is correct. But a predicate that applies in some contexts can be reasonably extended to other contexts where it is initially vague. This process of development approximates the cognitive remedy for vagueness that the epistemic view prescribes. The process is piecemeal and inductive, akin to what von Wright described as the molding of concepts.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/s11229-005-0196-x
Full citation:
Welch, J. R. (2007). Vagueness and inductive molding. Synthese 154 (1), pp. 147-172.
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