NOL Seminar with Peter Pagin
published: 2024-01-08
event date:
2024-01-29
The Nordic Online Logic Seminar
is organised monthly over Zoom, with expository talks on topics of interest for
the broader logic community. The seminar is open for professional or aspiring
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Date: Monday, 29 January 2024 at 16:00 CET (UTC+1) on Zoom
Speaker: Peter Pagin, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Philosophy at
Stockholm University
Title: Switcher Semantics and quantification
Abstract:
Switcher Semantics is a semantic framework that is basically characterised by
allowing switching: when recursively applying a semantic function μ to a
complex term t, the semantic function applying to an immediate subterm t’ of
t may be a function μ’, distinct from μ. An operator-argument-position
pair is called a switcher if it induces such a switch. Switcher semantic
systems do not satisfy the standard form of compositionality, but a generalized
form, which allows greater flexibility. In earlier work (mostly published), some
together with Kathrin Glüer, some with Dag Westerståhl, it has been applied to
natural language constructions like proper names in modal contexts, general
terms in modal contexts, indexicals in temporal contexts, quotation, and belief
contexts. This talk will focus on quantifiers and quantification. First-order
quantifiers can be regarded as switchers, switching from truth conditions to
satisfaction conditions. The larger topic is quantification into switched
contexts. I shall begin by giving an introduction to the framework.