Gastvortrag von Petr Dvořák (Tschechische Akademie der Wiss., Prag / Palacky-Universität, Olmütz): „Is there Ontic Vagueness?“ [Einladung]

Seminarraum VI der Theologischen Fakultät (Karl-Rahner-Platz 3, 1. Stock)

Traditionally, vagueness has been considered as either an epistemic or representational phenomenon, i.e. indeterminacy in either knowledge or conceptual meaning resulting in fuzzy extensions of vague terms. In recent decades, however, more and more scholars argue that one is to allow indeterminacy into ontology as a part of reality itself. Whoever argues in this way must overcome a famous argument, originally by G. Evans, according to which vague objects imply indeterminate identity that turns out to be incoherent. The paper shows various positions on the matter and assesses their respective merits. The stand which seems most promising is that of ontically induced referential indeterminacy of identity. 

Petr Dvořák (1970) studied philosophy in Canada, Brno and Prague. He is a senior researcher and a chair of the Department for the Study of Ancient and Medieval Thought at the Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, as well as an associate professor of philosophy at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic. His scholarly interests range from the history of scholastic logic to contemporary philosophical logic, analytic metaphysics and philosophy of religion.