MacColl’s elusive pluralism

MacColl is the recent subject of three interesting theses. One is that he is the probable originator of pluralism in logic. The other is that his pluralism expresses an underlying instrumentalism. The third is that the first two help explain his post-1909 neglect. Although there are respects in whic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhilosophia scientiae Vol. 15-1; no. 1; pp. 205 - 233
Main Author Woods, John
Format Journal Article Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published Paris Éditions Kimé 20.06.2011
Kimé
Subjects
Philosophical logics. Philosophy of language
Philosophy
Instrumentalism
Logics
Pluralism
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Summary:MacColl is the recent subject of three interesting theses. One is that he is the probable originator of pluralism in logic. The other is that his pluralism expresses an underlying instrumentalism. The third is that the first two help explain his post-1909 neglect. Although there are respects in which he is both a pluralist and an instrumentalist, I will suggest that it is difficult to find in MacColl’s writings a pluralism which honours the threefold attribution of having been originated by him, having been rooted in an instrumentalism adapted to logic, and being the occasion of his neglect.
ISSN:1281-2463
1775-4283
DOI:10.4000/philosophiascientiae.373