I 244
Scope is ambiguous: it cannot be decided by parentheses. - Indefinite singular term: "one", "some", "each member" - "not a"/"not every" - "I think one is such that ..."/"is one such I believe ... ".
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Singular terms.
I 243 ff
Scope/Quine: e.g. "large European butterfly": should this apply to butterflies that are large by European standards, or to all large butterflies that happen to come from Europe?
I 244
The delicate thing about this question is that it cannot be clarified by a decision between two bracket positions. There is no such problem if adjectives are used categorically i.e. not attributively: For example, "Round black box" and "Round black box" do not need to be distinguished.
The problem is particularly central with indefinite singular terms:
(1) If (any) member contributes something, he/she gets a badge.
(2) If each member contributes something, I will be surprised.
(1) Claims from each member, if they contribute something, they get a badge. Sentence (2) does not claim accordingly from each member: If he/she contributes anything, I will be surprised.
I 246
There are 3 reasons why (1) and (2) are not ambiguous.
1) "it": We cannot see only the first sentence as the scope of any member.
2) A simple and irreducible characteristic of German usage is that "everyone" always demands the shortest possible range.
3) "any" always requires the greater of two possible scopes. This third reason applies to (3): (3) If (any) member contributes something, I will be surprised.
I 275 ff
"So that" is supposed to eliminate ambiguities of the scope. The simplification of theories is the central motif behind the radical artificiality of modern logical notation.
I 277
We need to include rules of timeliness to eliminate ambiguities of the kind. "George married a widow" and "George married Maria, and Maria is a widow".
I 288
The scope of a quantifier does not quite coincide with the scope of an indefinite singular term "all" or "something", because this encompasses the indefinite singular term itself.
Rather, the scope of a quantifier is the clause that the "so that" determines.
- - -
VII (h) 148
Necessity/possibility/Quine: is not a general feature of the objects concerned but depends on the way of reference.
Modal Logic/Quantification/Quine: it is not allowed to quantify into modal contexts from outside.
VII (h) 149
It is therefore not a question of singular terms, but of the scope of quantification.
VII (h) 154
Scope/Russell: a change in the scope of a description is neutral to the truth value of any sentence. Quine: but only if the description designates something.
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Quantification, >
Opacity.
