ABSTRACT

The first part of Chapter 4 extends the account of checking, developed in Chapter 3. First, Chapter 4 provides a more fine-grained analysis of checking by distinguishing between cases like checking that it is true that Peter cleaned, checking that Peter (and not somebody else) cleaned the kitchen or checking that Peter cleaned the kitchen (and not something else). Second, it investigates checking with regard to particular alternatives, e.g. checking that Peter and not Frank cleaned the kitchen. Third, it analyzes checking plus wh-clauses, e.g. checking who cleaned the kitchen. In the second part of Chapter 4, it is shown how we can elaborate a theory of discriminating in analogy to the modal theory of checking, viz. a theory about the conditions for having the capacity to discriminate Fs from Gs. The reader will see that sensitivity is not only necessary for checking but also for discriminating, i.e. S cannot discriminate Fs from Gs via M if, in the nearest possible worlds where x is G, M indicates that x is F.