Wednesday, February 18, 2009

negative facts

Assume that every true proposition needs a truthmaker. A truthmaker is something that renders a statemetn true. So "deer exist" is true in virtue of some deer existing somewhere. "Barack Obama exists' in virtue of the fact that that there is this one person, Barack Obama.

But what about "Bilbo does not exist" or "Hobbits do not exist"

Well, if Bilbo exists were true, we would say it was made true in virtue of Bilbo actually existing.

what is wrong with saying that "Bilbo does not exist" is just made true by the fact or state of affairs that Bilbo does not exist, that is, Bilbo does not have the property of existence.

Almost all defenders of the view that true propositions require truthmakers reject this move. Instead they make arcane suggestions, e.g. "the universe has the property of lacking hobbits"

Once again,, the prejudice in favor of the actual wrecks havoc on metaphysics.