Talk about things non-existent
Paul Dekker

Abstract:
In order to make sense of talk about things non-existent philosophers and linguists tend to construe them as things more than as non-existent. The temptation to do so is obviously strong, but it also appears wrong. This note provides a constructive argument that we can resist this temptation. It presents a simple formal language, with a proof theory, showing that we can make sense of talk about things non-existent without granting them existence.