Showing papers in "Analysis in 1978"

A problem in the justification of democracy

Abstract: PROFESSOR Anscombe has presented a voting table of which, she claims, the following description is true: the majority is frustrated by the majority's will being fulfilled (ANALYSIS 36.4, June, 1976). This alleged paradoxical (although not contradictory) fact may, she suggests, make nonsense of democracy. She examines a plausible justification for democracy, argues that this justification is damaged by the paradox, and concludes that a particular technique of tyranny is possible within such a system. Miss Anscombe's argument is too concise, and is in need of considerable clarification. Mr Leahy's contentment with the fact that there are more satisfied desires than unsatisfied desires in Miss Anscombe's table shows that some crucial points remain obscure (ANALYSIS 37.2, January, I977). I propose to make explicit some of these points, and to argue that a significant problem exists. This problem does not, however, permit the specific tyranny described by Miss Anscombe. The argument will be clearer with a simpler table. The simplest possible table that will exemplify Miss Anscombe's point will involve the minimum number of voters, the minimum number of questions, and the minimum majorities, such that (I) each question is decided by simple majority vote, and (II) the majority of the voters vote in the minority on the majority of the questions. In Miss Anscombe's table, the minimum majority of voters, A to F, vote in the minority on more than the minimum majority of the questions. Her example is therefore stronger than it needs to be in order to exemplify her claim. The simplest possible example is as follows:

Count Nouns and Mass Nouns

Abstract: Discussion de la these de P.T. Geach sur la "derelativisation" dans l'analyse des noms referant a des objets "comptables" et a des objets non comptables "mass-terms". Selon l'A., cette these n'est adequate qu'aux noms comptables concrets. Pour les noms de "masse" concrets, il faut preferer l'analyse classique de Frege. La demonstration, qui ne porte que sur la critique de ce dernier point, recourt au concept d'identite ("le meme... que..."), qui est naturellement central dans la theorie de Geach.