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Article
Eliminativism, Dialetheism and Moore's Paradox
Theoria
  • John N. WILLIAMS, Singapore Management University
Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
submittedVersion
Publication Date
2-2015
Abstract

John Turri gives an example that he thinks refutes what he takes to be “G. E. Moore's view” that omissive assertions such as “It is raining but I do not believe that it is raining” are “inherently ‘absurd'”. This is that of Ellie, an eliminativist who makes such assertions. Turri thinks that these are perfectly reasonable and not even absurd. Nor does she seem irrational if the sincerity of her assertion requires her to believe its content. A commissive counterpart of Ellie is Di, a dialetheist who asserts or believes that: Since any adequate explanation of Moore's paradox must handle commissive assertions and beliefs as well as omissive ones, it must deal with Di as well as engage Ellie. I give such an explanation. I argue that neither Ellie's assertion nor her belief is irrational yet both are absurd. Likewise neither Di's assertion nor her belief is irrational yet in contrast neither is absurd. I conclude that not all Moore-paradoxical assertions or beliefs are irrational and that the syntax of Moore's examples is not sufficient for the absurdity found in them.

Keywords
  • eliminativism,
  • dialetheism,
  • Moore's paradox,
  • absurdity,
  • irrationality,
  • norms
Discipline
Identifier
10.1111/theo.12038
Publisher
Wiley
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/theo.12038
Citation Information
John N. WILLIAMS. "Eliminativism, Dialetheism and Moore's Paradox" Theoria Vol. 81 Iss. 1 (2015) p. 27 - 47 ISSN: 0495-4548
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/john_williams/92/