2017

Ethan Jerzak

  • Doctoral Candidate
  • University of California, Berkeley
Picture of Ethan Jerzak

Project

Paradox in Thought and Natural Language

Program

Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowships

Department

Philosophy

Abstract

This dissertation examines paradoxes of self-reference for two areas in which they have received little concerted attention: natural language semantics, and psychological theories of propositional attitudes. The central idea of the project is that these paradoxes arise for beliefs and desires even when those beliefs or desires are not about language. It develops a unified propositional theory governed by a nonclassical logic, and explores implications for natural language semantics and for philosophy of mind.