On the Coherence of Strict Finitism
Abstract: Strict finitism is the position that only those natural numbers exist that we can represent in practice. Michael Dummett, in a paper called Wang's Paradox, famously tried to show that strict finitism is an incoherent position. By using the Sorites paradox, he claimed that certain predicates the strict finitist is committed to are incoherent. More recently, Ofra Magidor objected to Dummett's claims, arguing that Dummett fails to show the incoherence of strict finitism. In this paper, I shall investigate whether Magidor is successful in preventing Dummett from proving the incoherence of strict finitism. Though not all the counterarguments Magidor presents are successful, she does in the end manage to corner Dummett. There remains an opportunity for Dummett to insist on the incoherence of strict finitism, but this is a very small opening. The final conclusion of this paper is that Dummett cannot logically prove the incoherence of strict finitism, even though a limited chance for success remains.
- Location
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Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
- Extent
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Online-Ressource
- Language
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Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
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On the Coherence of Strict Finitism ; volume:33 ; number:2 ; year:2019 ; pages:1-14 ; extent:14
Kriterion ; 33, Heft 2 (2019), 1-14 (gesamt 14)
- Creator
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Alesander, Auke
- DOI
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10.1515/krt-2019-330202
- URN
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urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022090315120799086243
- Rights
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Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
- Last update
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15.08.2025, 7:32 AM CEST
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Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Associated
- Alesander, Auke
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