Meinong's jungle
Encyclopedia
Meinong's jungle is the name given to the repository of non-existent entities in the ontology
of Alexius Meinong
.
Meinong, an Austria
n philosopher active at the turn of the 20th century, believed that since non-existent things could apparently be referred to
, they must have some sort of being
, which he termed sosein ("being so"). A unicorn
and a pegasus
are both non-being; yet it's true that only unicorns have horns and only pegasi have wings. Thus non-existent things like unicorns, square circles, and golden mountains can have different properties, and must have a 'being such-and-such' even though they lack 'being' proper. The strangeness of such entities led to this ontological realm being referred to as "Meinong's jungle". The jungle is described in Meinong's work Über Annahmen (1902). The name is credited to William C. Kneale, whose Probability and Induction (1949) includes the passage "after wandering in Meinong's jungle of subsistence … philosophers are now agreed that propositions cannot be regarded as ultimate entities".
The Meinongian theory of objects (Gegenstandstheorie) was influential in the debate over sense and reference
between Gottlob Frege
and Bertrand Russell
which led to the establishment of analytic philosophy
and contemporary philosophy of language
. Russell's theory of descriptions
, in the words of P.M.S. Hacker, enables him to "thin out the luxuriant Meinongian jungle of entities (such as the round square), which, it had appeared, must in some sense subsist in order to be talked about". According to the theory of descriptions, speakers are not committed to asserting the existence of referents for the names they use.
Meinong's jungle is cited as an objection to Meinong's semantics, as the latter commits one to ontically undesirable objects; it is desirable to be able to speak meaningfully about unicorns, the objection goes, but not to have to believe in them. Nominalists
(who believe that general or abstract terms and predicates exist but that either universals or abstract objects do not) find Meinong's jungle particularly unpalatable. As Colin McGinn
puts it, "[g]oing naively by the linguistic appearances leads not only to logical impasse but also to metaphysical extravagance - as with Meinong's jungle, infested with shadowy Being." An uneasiness with the ontological commitment
s of Meinong's theory is commonly expressed in the bon mot "we should cut back Meinong's jungle with Occam's razor
".
Meinong's jungle was defended by modal realists
, whose possible world semantics offered a more palatable variation of Meinong's Gegenstandstheorie, as Jaakko Hintikka
explains:
However, modal realists retain the problem of explaining reference to impossible objects such as square circles. For Meinong, such objects simply have a 'being so' that precludes their having ordinary 'being.' But this entails that 'being so' in Meinong's sense is not equivalent to existing in a possible world.
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
of Alexius Meinong
Alexius Meinong
Alexius Meinong was an Austrian philosopher, a realist known for his unique ontology...
.
Meinong, an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n philosopher active at the turn of the 20th century, believed that since non-existent things could apparently be referred to
Reference
Reference is derived from Middle English referren, from Middle French rèférer, from Latin referre, "to carry back", formed from the prefix re- and ferre, "to bear"...
, they must have some sort of being
Being
Being , is an English word used for conceptualizing subjective and objective aspects of reality, including those fundamental to the self —related to and somewhat interchangeable with terms like "existence" and "living".In its objective usage —as in "a being," or "[a] human being" —it...
, which he termed sosein ("being so"). A unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
and a pegasus
Pegasus
Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...
are both non-being; yet it's true that only unicorns have horns and only pegasi have wings. Thus non-existent things like unicorns, square circles, and golden mountains can have different properties, and must have a 'being such-and-such' even though they lack 'being' proper. The strangeness of such entities led to this ontological realm being referred to as "Meinong's jungle". The jungle is described in Meinong's work Über Annahmen (1902). The name is credited to William C. Kneale, whose Probability and Induction (1949) includes the passage "after wandering in Meinong's jungle of subsistence … philosophers are now agreed that propositions cannot be regarded as ultimate entities".
The Meinongian theory of objects (Gegenstandstheorie) was influential in the debate over sense and reference
Sense and reference
Sinn and bedeutung are usually translated, respectively, as sense and reference. Two different aspects of some terms' meanings, a term's reference is the object that the term refers to, while the term's sense is the way that the term refers to that object.Sinn and bedeutung were introduced by...
between Gottlob Frege
Gottlob Frege
Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege was a German mathematician, logician and philosopher. He is considered to be one of the founders of modern logic, and made major contributions to the foundations of mathematics. He is generally considered to be the father of analytic philosophy, for his writings on...
and Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
which led to the establishment of analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
and contemporary philosophy of language
Philosophy of language
Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for analytic philosophers is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning, language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language...
. Russell's theory of descriptions
Theory of descriptions
The theory of descriptions is the philosopher Bertrand Russell's most significant contribution to the philosophy of language. It is also known as Russell's Theory of Descriptions...
, in the words of P.M.S. Hacker, enables him to "thin out the luxuriant Meinongian jungle of entities (such as the round square), which, it had appeared, must in some sense subsist in order to be talked about". According to the theory of descriptions, speakers are not committed to asserting the existence of referents for the names they use.
Meinong's jungle is cited as an objection to Meinong's semantics, as the latter commits one to ontically undesirable objects; it is desirable to be able to speak meaningfully about unicorns, the objection goes, but not to have to believe in them. Nominalists
Nominalism
Nominalism is a metaphysical view in philosophy according to which general or abstract terms and predicates exist, while universals or abstract objects, which are sometimes thought to correspond to these terms, do not exist. Thus, there are at least two main versions of nominalism...
(who believe that general or abstract terms and predicates exist but that either universals or abstract objects do not) find Meinong's jungle particularly unpalatable. As Colin McGinn
Colin McGinn
Colin McGinn is a British philosopher currently working at the University of Miami. McGinn has also held major teaching positions at Oxford University and Rutgers University. He is best known for his work in the philosophy of mind, though he has written on topics across the breadth of modern...
puts it, "[g]oing naively by the linguistic appearances leads not only to logical impasse but also to metaphysical extravagance - as with Meinong's jungle, infested with shadowy Being." An uneasiness with the ontological commitment
Ontological commitment
In the philosophy of language and metaphysics, an ontological commitment is said to be necessary in order to make a proposition in which the existence of one thing is presupposed or implied by asserting the existence of another. We are “committed” to the existence of the second thing, even though...
s of Meinong's theory is commonly expressed in the bon mot "we should cut back Meinong's jungle with Occam's razor
Occam's razor
Occam's razor, also known as Ockham's razor, and sometimes expressed in Latin as lex parsimoniae , is a principle that generally recommends from among competing hypotheses selecting the one that makes the fewest new assumptions.-Overview:The principle is often summarized as "simpler explanations...
".
Meinong's jungle was defended by modal realists
Modal realism
Modal realism is the view, notably propounded by David Kellogg Lewis, that all possible worlds are as real as the actual world. It is based on the following tenets: possible worlds exist; possible worlds are not different in kind from the actual world; possible worlds are irreducible entities; the...
, whose possible world semantics offered a more palatable variation of Meinong's Gegenstandstheorie, as Jaakko Hintikka
Jaakko Hintikka
Kaarlo Jaakko Juhani Hintikka is a Finnish philosopher and logician.Hintikka was born in Vantaa. After teaching for a number of years at Florida State University, Stanford, University of Helsinki, and the Academy of Finland, he is currently Professor of Philosophy at Boston University...
explains:
However, modal realists retain the problem of explaining reference to impossible objects such as square circles. For Meinong, such objects simply have a 'being so' that precludes their having ordinary 'being.' But this entails that 'being so' in Meinong's sense is not equivalent to existing in a possible world.
Related topics
- Empty nameEmpty nameIn the philosophy of language, an empty name is a proper name that has no referent.The problem of empty names is that empty names have a meaning that it seems they shouldn't have. The name "Pegasus" is empty; there is nothing to which it refers. Yet though there is no Pegasus, we know what the...
, a name without a referent - FictionalismFictionalismFictionalism is a methodological theory in philosophy that suggests that statements of a certain sort should not be taken to be literally true, but merely as a useful fiction...
, a theory which holds that one can talk about fictional objects without being committed to their existence - NoneismNoneismNoneism is a theory in logic and metaphysics first coined by Richard Routley and appropriated again in 2005 by Graham Priest. It holds that there are some things that do not exist. That is, we can quantify over non-existent things using the particular quantifier...
, the philosophical belief that there are things that do not exist