pat hayes scripsit: > Indeed. I have been a professor in two philosophy departments, but I > wouldnt count myself as a philosopher. If Ray Smullyan says that Ferdinand the Bull is a (pacifist) philosopher, I hardly see why you don't qualify, except under a highly arbitrary definition that would, after all, exclude Socrates (who AFAWK published nothing). > For an example, consider the description "The tallest building which, > at 9am on the 20th of October 1998, was further north than the oldest > plumber born in Philadelphia." Barring extraordinary plumber > fortitude, this description picks out a unique building, but I have > no idea how to set about finding it. Is that building 'identified' > in your sense? Why? It's not obviously unique, since several buildings might be at exactly the same latitude. -- Do what you will, John Cowan this Life's a Fiction jcowan@reutershealth.com And is made up of http://www.reutershealth.com Contradiction. --William Blake http://www.ccil.org/~cowanReceived on Wednesday, 23 April 2003 20:59:57 GMT
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