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Re: [jboske] "x1 is a Y for doing x2" (was: RE: Re: antiblotation (was: RE: taksi



And Rosta scripsit:

> But in brief, the "FOR" creates
> a logical abstraction such that the quantifier on the x2 is
> *within* the abstraction. (For example, "This is a knife for
> cutting a coconut" should not entail "There is a coconut that
> this a knife for cutting".)

I'm not sure I believe this.  Let's talk about breadknives rather
than mythical coconut knives (you need something more like an ax than
a knife!), and let's look at the contingent falsity of the negated
version of the implicature rather than the necessary truth of a positive
implicature.  I take it that this procedure is licit; if not, let's
discuss it.

I then rewrite your claim as saying:  "This is a knife for cutting bread"
is consistent with the falsity of "There is some bread that this is a
knife for cutting".  Now I admit that "There is some bread that this
knife cuts" might be false, but if there is no bread whatsoever that
this knife is suited to cut, then I deny that it is a breadknife.  So as
long as the "for" appears in both the original and the rewritten forms,
I conclude there is no scoping problem.

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