Skip to main content
Article
Moorean Absurdities and the Nature of Assertion
Australasian Journal of Philosophy
  • John N. WILLIAMS, Singapore Management University
Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
3-1996
Abstract

I argue that Moore's propositions, for example, 'I went to the pictures last Tuesday but I don't believe that I did' cannot be rationally believed. Their assertors either cannot be rationally believed or cannot be believed to be rational. This analysis is extended to Moorean propositions such as God knows that I am an atheist and I believe that this proposition is false. I then defend the following definition of assertion: anyone asserts that p iff that person expresses a belief that p with the intention of causing relevant epistemic change in the cognition of an actual or potential audience.

Discipline
Identifier
10.1080/00048409612347111
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/00048409612347111
Citation Information
John N. WILLIAMS. "Moorean Absurdities and the Nature of Assertion" Australasian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 74 Iss. 1 (1996) p. 135 - 149 ISSN: 0004-8402
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/john_williams/35/