Nominalizations: Philosophical and Linguistic Perspectives

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Benjamin Schnieder
• Subject Area: Practical Philosophy
• Term: from 2011 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 187087874

Nominalizations figure prominently in both linguistics (syntax and semantics) and philosophy. Nominalizations are of interest to syntacticians because of differences and similarities between the base from which the nominalization is derived and the nominalization (such as its argument structure and syntactic features). Semanticists studying nominalizations are interested in the connection between the semantics of the base expression and the semantics of the nominalization in particular because the nominalization can be used to form a referential term, referring, it appears to some object which is in some way related to the content of the base expression. Nominalizations figure prominently in ontological discussions in philosophy since nominalizations appear to form terms that refer to abstract objects (such as propositions, properties, or facts) or 'minor entities' (such as events, states, or tropes). There is as yet very little interaction, though, between linguists working on the syntax and semantics of nominalizations and philosophers interested in the objects to which nominalizations apparently refer. This project aims to fill that gap, bringing together a number of linguists especially on the French side, some of which are involved already in research groups studying nominalizations, with a group of German philosophers with a focus on ontology. They will systematically explore questions that require the joint contribution of the two disciplines. The questions cover, first, a range of fundamental issues in semantics and ontology (IP1), as well as semantics and meta-ontology (IP2). But analyses of nominalization also have wide-reaching consequences for debates not primarily belonging to ontology which will be examined as well, including debates about mental attitudes (IP3), and philosophical logic (IP4).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Participating Person: Professorin Dr. Friederike Moltmann