Re:Truth, Math, and Models (Part 8 in a series on the scient...
by skulk on Monday May 27, 2024 @07:54PM
(#40495956)
But wizards are, by definition, fictional making Gandalf a bona fide wizard. Unless we're holding out hope that magic might be actually real.
Re:Truth, Math, and Models (Part 8 in a series on the scient...
by lisper on Monday May 27, 2024 @08:24PM
(#40496145)
> But wizards are, by definition, fictional
No, they aren't fictional by definition. It's possible wizards exist in objective reality. That's an empirical question, not a definitional one.
An example of something that is true of wizards by definition is that they can do magic.
I address that here:
https://blog.rongarret.info/2015/02/31-flavors-of-ontology.h...
That essay was written earlier, so it's not part of the series, but that's the answer. Yes, Gandalf exists in objective reality, but as a fictional character, not as a wizard. So "Gandalf was a wizard" is false if it is taken to mean that Gandalf was an actual wizard in the real world.