On the Ontology and Semantics of Absence
Friederike Moltmann
November 2024
 

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 of wholes. The semantics will be embedded into object-based truthmaker semantics of modals (Moltmann 2008, to appear).
Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/008558
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: To appear in The Journal for the Philosophy of Language, Mind, and the Arts JOLMA 5.2., 2024
keywords: intensional transitives, mereology, integrated whole, variable object, individual concept, semantics
previous versions: v1 [November 2024]
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