Unanswerable questions for everyone: reply to Inan |
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Authors: | Philip Atkins Tim Lewis |
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Institution: | 1. Philosophy Department, University of California, Santa Barbara, 5631 South Hall, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-3090, USA 2. Philosophy Department, University of Alabama, P.O. Box 870218, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
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Abstract: | Millianism is the familiar view that some expressions, such as proper names, contribute only their referent to the semantic content of sentences in which they occur. Inan (Philosophical Studies 2010) has recently argued that the Millian is committed to the following odd conclusion: There may be questions that he is able to grasp but that he cannot answer, either affirmatively, negatively, or with a simple ??I don??t know??. The Millian is indeed committed to this conclusion. But we intend to show that Inan??s argument generalizes, so that everyone who accepts certain largely uncontroversial principles is committed to the odd conclusion that there may be questions that are graspable but not answerable. |
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