Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Shem and Shaun: the kicker and the kicked. Anything missing?

Grice considers (PPQ, vol. 67, p. 14) Davidson's candid:

(Ex)KICKED (Shaun, Shem, x)

"This goes against our natural instincts and inlicnations"

"Are we to regard 'kicked'"

in

Shaun kicked Shem.

"not as a simple dyadic predicate,"

"but as a three place predicate:

one place for the kicker,

a second place for the kicked,

and "an extra vacancy for reference
to the EVENT or action in which that
KICKING consists of?"

Enough to say: "Do not multiply Davidsons beyond necessity!"

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