Subject: Re: Being & Time 2
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 15:28:06 +0000


Jud wrote:

>I have no idea from whence you have dreamt up the bizarre and muddled 
>notion
>that because the statement “The leaf is green” is confirmed as a truth
>statement when the leaf in question is seen to exist, that it follows that
>because a similar statement can also be found in a work of fiction for 
>which
>no corresponding temporal referent to the subject exists, that therefore 
>one
>cannot even linguistically express that an actual leaf exists.

Because if the sentence is *linguistically* identical to the fictional 
version (in which case the leaf does not exist), then there is no 
distinguishing *linguistic* element in the sentence at all. From your 
previous argument, there is nothing in the content of either the subject 
("The leaf") nor the predicate ("is green") which expresses that the leaf 
actually exists. No part of the sentence qualifies for this. Therefore, if 
the same is true of ANY sentence whatsoever (they can all be found in works 
of fiction), then it direcly follows that NO sentence can express the actual 
existence of ANYTHING WHATSOEVER.

Anthony Crifasi


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