Abstract
I critically examine several objections to ‘destructive update’ of assignment functions in dynamic theories of anaphora, using a modular compositional treatment of the static/dynamic divide to highlight what static and dynamic approaches to assignment functions have in common, and how they differ. EARLY ACCESS
Highlights
This paper attempts to clarify the sense in which ‘destructive update’ of assignment functions is problematic for dynamic theories of anaphora
Destructive update is, after all, a characteristic feature of how binding is perpetrated in standard static systems
To draw this point out formally, I sketch a novel modular account of the static/dynamic divide, arguing that dynamic systems with destructive update inherit their approach to assignment modification directly from static systems, but combine it with a view of assignments as information
Summary
This paper attempts to clarify the sense in which ‘destructive update’ of assignment functions is problematic for dynamic theories of anaphora. Texts with destructive updates have respectable truth conditions, and destructive update does not appear directly responsible for any under- or over- generation issues. Destructive update is, after all, a characteristic feature of how binding is perpetrated in standard static systems (including first-order logic and λ-calculus). To draw this point out formally, I sketch a novel modular account of the static/dynamic divide, arguing that dynamic systems with destructive update inherit their approach to assignment modification directly from static systems, but combine it with a view of assignments as information. I suggest that it’s this constellation of formal properties which is responsible for the intuition that destructive update is problematic. I conclude by considering whether and how the failures of antisymmetry characteristically associated with destructive update might be conceptually, empirically, and technically fraught
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