Table of Contents

Introduction - Theories of vagueness, Rosanna Keefe, Peter Smith; On the sorites, Diogenes Laertius, Galen and Cicero; Vagueness, Bertrand Russell; Vagueness - an exercise in logical analysis, Max Black; Vagueness and logic, Carl G. Hempel; Truth and vagueness, Henryk Mehlberg; The sorites paradox, James Cargile; Wang's paradox, Michael Dummett; Vagueness, truth and logic, Kit Fine; Language-mastery and the sorites paradox, Crispin Wright; Truth, belief and vagueness, Kenton F. Machina; Further reflections on the sorites paradox, Crispin Wright; Concepts without boundaries, R.M. Sainsbury; Vagueness and ignorance, Timothy Williamson, Sorites paradoxes and the semantics of vagueness, Michael Tye; Vagueness by degrees, Dorothy Edington; Can there be vague objects? Gareth Evans; Vague identity - Evans misunderstood, David Lewis; Worldly indeterminacy of identity, Terence Parsons, Peter Woodruff.

Promotional Information

Anyone who has the vague sense that they ought to know more about vagueness (potentially anyone working in logic, metaphysics, semantics or the philosophy of language) will find that this collection can definitely bring them up to speed (and then some). The collection seamlessly connects contemporary research with the historical problem of vagueness. Best of all, Keefe and Smith have provided an excellent introduction which his itself worth the price of the book. The resulting collection is an indispensable resource for anyone working in the core areas of philosophy. -- Peter Ludlow, Associate Professor of Philosophy, SUNY Stony Brook This volume contains a well-chosen sample of the best work on vagueness in recent years. It also contains new work of the highest quality. -- Graeme Forbes, Celia Scott Weatherhead Distinguished Professor, Tulane University A timeless collection of classic and recent writings on vagueness, with a very useful introductory overview essay by the editors. The book is an invaluable reference work, and is very well suited as a reader in courses on vagueness. -- Terry Horgan, Professor Philosophy, University of Memphis This timeless anthology provides an inviting first step to anyone interested in the sorites paradox. The issues are developed with an agreeable blend of logic and history. Each step of the dialectic is followed by a yet more interesting step. Consequently, even veterans of vagueness will marvel at how the editors have compressed so much wisdom into only finitely many pages. -- Roy A. Sorensen, Professor of Philosophy, NYU

About the Author

Rosanna Keefe is a Research Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge University

Peter Smith is a member of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge.

Reviews

This balanced and comprehensive collection will be a standard reference for many years to come.
*Computational Linguistics*