Friday, May 31, 2019

Homological, Autological, Heterological

Wells Cathedral, postcard scan 1997: Green grass.

Some new terms for me from philosopher, Blackburn.

BLACKBURN, SIMON (1996) Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Cited

Homological

'Word that applies to itself. See autological, Grelling's paradox.' (177).

Autological

Cited

'A word that applies to itself: 'short' is a short word, 'English' is an English word. (30).

Grelling's Paradox would feature the idea that although 'short' is a short word, 'long' is not a long word.(162). The 'long' example is an example of the heterological. A word that does not apply to itself. (172).  Blackburn explains that there is a question whether or not 'heterological' is actually a word that does not apply to itself as heterological. (163). Quote: 'If it is it is not, and is not if it is'. (163). A semantic paradox. (163).

Both are true...

To me, paradoxes present a case for careful reasoning in context, with the presentation of premises and conclusions.

Is green a green word? No, is that case it is heterological.

Is green a green word? Yes, is that case it is homological.