Everett's Trilogy

Abstract

In three recent papers, Everett (1993, 1994 and 1996), Anthony Everett has produced a number of interesting and interrelated arguments against a dialetheic solution to the semantic paradoxes. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of these arguments. The relationship between the papers is roughly this: Everett (1994) argues that a dialetheic solution to the paradoxes falls foul of certain kinds of Curry paradox (left pincer); Everett (1993) argues that it falls foul of extended paradoxes (right pincer); Everett (1996) argues that any way of avoiding one pincer drives one firmly into the other (the fork). In the next section I will set up the background for the discussion. I will then take the papers in turn. I will argue that Everett's strategic onslaught fails, on all fronts. There are, however, interesting lessons to be learned from his campaign.