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New paper 'On the Ontology and Semantics of Absence'

Posted On: November 10, 2024
  • 'On the Ontology and Semantics of Absence', The Journal for the Philosophy of Language, Mind, and the Arts JOLMA 5.2., 2024, special issue 'The Dark Side of Being: On What There is Not', ed. by F. Constantini.
    • Abstract: This paper gives a semantic analysis of 'completion-related verbs of absence' such as 'lack' and 'be missing' in English. The analysis is based on the notion of a conceptual (integrated or ideal) whole, the notion of a variable object and its variable parts, and an ontology of 'lacks' as entities whose satisfaction involves parts. The semantics is parallel to that of object-based truthmaker semantics of modals (Moltmann 2008, to appear).