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Hunting metaphysical snarks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2009

David Best
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Extract

They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;

They pursued it with forks and hope;

They threatened its life with a railway share;

They charmed it with smiles and soap.

The snark is pursued with forks and hope. The hunters are unclear about where to find it, and the appropriate methods for catching it, because they are not even clear what it is that they are seeking. We do not pursue metaphysical quarry with forks, although we often pursue such quarry with inappropriate logical tools and misplaced hope, for often we are equally confused about what it is we are seeking, and the appropriate methods for finding it. So what we find may be very surprising: we may find that there is nothing to find.

Type
Research Article
Information
Think , Volume 5 , Issue 13 , Summer 2006 , pp. 101 - 111
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 2006

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