generality in logic – Diversity Reading List

Russell, Gillian. Logical Nihilism: Could there be no Logic?

2018, Philosophical Issues, 28: 308-324

Categories: Logic and Philosophy of Logic, Logical Consequence and Entailment, Logical Pluralism

Keywords: context-sensitivity, generality in logic, logical nihilism, model theory

Expand entry: Added by: Franci Mangraviti

Abstract:
Logical nihilism can be understood as the view that there are no laws of logic. This paper presents both a counterexample-based argument in favor of logical nihilism, and a way to resist it by using Lakatos' method of lemma incorporation. The price to pay is the loss of absolute generality.

Comment: The paper is appropriate for any course discussing the monism vs pluralism vs nihilism debate in logic (or maybe even focusing on varieties of logical nihilism). On a technical level it requires no more than an introduction to formal logic; some familiarity with monist and pluralist positions is helpful for context.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Recommended use: Specialised reading

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