Retreat from Psychologism

Copyright (C) 2018 Dennis Joe Darland

Here P|R is a relation between words and ideas

and S is a relation between ideas and objects (objects including universals, and the logical entities not, or, existing, various variables, and necessity).

Now (See Principia Mathematica *32)

the possible relata of S are objects. [some objects may not be relata]

The possible referents of S are ideas of objects.

The possible relata of R are ideas of objects.

The possible referents of R are ideas of words. [some ideas may not be in R relation to a word as a referent]

The possible relata of P are ideas of words.

The possible referents of P are words.

This can be equivalently expressed in terms of domains and converse domains (PM *33).

Anyway (just as an attempt), lets suppose for any possible sentence (composed of words),

there is a possible relation of ideas where for each word in the sentence, there corresponds an idea in the RHS of an P|R relation to the word. (call that, for any sentence, a proposition)

and also suppose,

there is a possible relation of objects where for each idea in the proposition, there possibly corresponds an object in the RHS of an S relation to the idea. (call that for any proposition a fact) For true propositions, there will be such facts.

There may be facts, for which there is no such proposition. [consider ChurchTuring Thesis]

Words and ideas are also objects, as is the belief_private universal.

Also, note there could be an idea say a, for which there is no object b, such that a S b.

And, similarly, in some other cases.

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