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The Knowability Paradox

Online ISBN:
9780191603587
Print ISBN:
9780199282593
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

The Knowability Paradox

Jonathan L. Kvanvig
Jonathan L. Kvanvig
University of Missouri
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Published online:
1 May 2006
Published in print:
9 February 2006
Online ISBN:
9780191603587
Print ISBN:
9780199282593
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

This book examines and proposes a solution to the knowability paradox. The paradox derives from the proof that if all truths are knowable, then all truths are known, which was first published by Frederic Fitch in 1963. It identifies two problems created by Fitch’s proof: a perceived anti-realism and the paradox created by the proof. It is argued that although the two problems are related, a defence against the threat to anti-realism is no solution to the paradox. The neo-Russellian theory of quantification is considered the only acceptable solution to the paradox, since no other approach offers any hope of addressing the fundamental paradoxicality involved in asserting a lost logical distinction between actuality and possibility.

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