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Conceptual analysis reveals an insuperable adventitiousness problem for simple proposition theories, indicating structured propositions better explain why sentences express specific meanings.
The article raises a problem of adventitiousness for the relation of propositions to sentences: it should not be mysterious why understanding a sentence involves understanding the propositions it is apt to express and that there are propositions it cannot express. It is argued that although so-called ‘structured proposition’ views do not obviously resolve the problem, they appear to be of the right style. On the other hand, the problem appears insuperable for so-called ‘simple’ views of propositions.
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John Collins (2026) studied this question.
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