SEMANTICS OF COMPARATIVE PREDICATES IN INTENSIONAL CONTEXTS: A TWO-DIMENSIONAL APPROACH

The problem of interpretation of comparative predicates in intensional is analyzed. While standard first-order modal logic is quite powerful, it cannot express some simple patterns of comparative cross-world predication. The starting point of the analysis is the joke about yacht size in Russell's "On denoting". Numeral, objectual, and mentalist interpretations are compared. I then apply the extension of first-order modal logic developed by Wehmeier to allow for cross-world predication in doxastic context. In the conclusion an account of cross-world predication based on two-dimensional account is proposed.