If “real” is an honorific, then it can also be used as a descriptive term.
If “Gary Drescher is not real” is false, then clearly we mean something by the word, which makes it a bit tricky to show that it’s not meaningful. Maybe you could show that real and unreal things have identical properties, aside from their “honorific?” Monsters under the bed refute that one though...
I think you should use a more charitable interpretation. E.g., “A common usage of the world ‘real’”. Obviously you’re going to find some cases where real is used more technically.
Past a small amount of charity it stops being a notable quote and starts being a demonstration of our charity skills, so I’m more reluctant to be nice here than in an argument.
If “real” is an honorific, then it can also be used as a descriptive term.
If “Gary Drescher is not real” is false, then clearly we mean something by the word, which makes it a bit tricky to show that it’s not meaningful. Maybe you could show that real and unreal things have identical properties, aside from their “honorific?” Monsters under the bed refute that one though...
I think you should use a more charitable interpretation. E.g., “A common usage of the world ‘real’”. Obviously you’re going to find some cases where real is used more technically.
Past a small amount of charity it stops being a notable quote and starts being a demonstration of our charity skills, so I’m more reluctant to be nice here than in an argument.