Latitudinarianism (philosophy)

For the religious meaning, see Latitudinarian.

Latitudinarianism, in at least one area of contemporary philosophy, is a position concerning de dicto and de re (propositional) attitudes. Latitudinarians think that de re attitudes are not a category distinct from de dicto attitudes; the former are just a special case of the latter.

The term was introduced into discussions of de dicto and de re attitudes by Roderick Chisholm in his "Knowledge and Belief: 'De Dicto' and 'De Re'" (1976). Latitudinarianism has since also sometimes been called an "unrestricted exportation" view.

References and further reading

• Baker, Lynne Rudder (1982). "De Re Belief in Action" The Philosophical Review, Vol. 91, No. 3, pp. 363–387.
• Chisholm, Roderick (1976). "Knowledge and Belief: 'De Dicto' and 'De Re'" Philosophical Studies 29, pp. 1-20.
• Quine, W.V. (1956). "Quantifiers and Propositional Attitudes" Journal of Philosophy 53. Reprinted in Quine's Ways of Paradox (1976), pp. 185–196.
• Sosa, Ernest (1995). "Fregean Reference Defended" Philosophical Issues, Vol. 6, Content, pp. 91–99.