Schemas

Abstract

Relativism about quantifiers maintains that we never quantify over an absolutely comprehensive domain. Some philosophers are quick to reject this view on the grounds that it cannot be coherently formulated. But not every coherent theory can be captured in a single thesis. Sooner or later, everyone needs to make sense of theories that are infinitely axiomatized using schemas. This chapter offers a schematic regimentation of relativism. It then goes on to investigate the use of schemas to provide a relativist-friendly means to simulate absolutely general quantification. The chapter closes by discussing whether the relativist is able to frame an appropriate side-condition on the schema intended to capture her view.