Sorting Out Sorites
Peter March · Canadian Journal of Philosophy · 1984
Let Hn stand for an assembly of n grains of salt. Then the paradox of Sorites may be presented this way: H10,000 is a heap. p If H10,000 is a heap then H10,000-1 is a heap. p H9,999 is a heap. MP H9,999 is a heap then H9,999-1 is a heap. P 19998. If H2 is a heap then H2-1 is a heap. P 19999. H1 is a heap. MP 20000. H1 is not a heap. P 20001. H1 is and is not a heap. Con A more significant example of the argument results where Ht stands for a human being (h.b.) at time t (in seconds) where t=O is the present and the human being is one year old.