Can I describe a non-existent object in the past tense?

Question

Pegasus doesn't exist, and it has never existed.

Pegasus was a non-existent animal.
Pegasus was a horse.
Pegasus killed the monstrous Chimaera.

Can these statements be true? I want to ask this question because all the statements about non-existent objects I've seen are in the present tense.

In "common sense" natural language? in a novel/tale about ancient myths? In formal predicate logic? in "extended" predicate logic considering the "existence" predicate? :-) — Mauro ALLEGRANZA, Nov 23 '23 at 10:54
Before his encounter with the whale, Ahab had two intact legs. — user4894, Jan 22 '24 at 22:31

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 23 '23 at 11:02

See Hesiod's Theogony, II, 281:

"And when Perseus cut off her [Medusa] head, there sprang forth great Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus who is so called because he was born near the springs (pegae) of Ocean; and that other, because he held a golden blade in his hands. Now Pegasus flew away and left the earth, the mother of flocks, and came to the deathless gods: and he dwells in the house of Zeus and brings to wise Zeus the thunder and lightning."

It is correctly written, according to the rules of syntax, and we can understand it, and it is in the past tense.

So yes, we can "describe" it in the past tense.

Is it a true statement? It depends: if Theogony is an historical book about the origins of gods, maybe it is true. If Theogony is a fictional novel, we do not usually consider ot true/false.

But I got still on problem... Can something exist in reality and mind at the same time?... — , Nov 23 '23 at 11:13
@Collins - an individual, like Socrates or myself exists in reality. A concept is in our mind: is this enough to assert that it exists also "in reality"? It depends on our view about "reality" (metaphysics). — Mauro ALLEGRANZA, Nov 23 '23 at 13:16

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 23 '23 at 13:11

All true or false statements are within a context. Context can be real or imaginary. In natural language conversations we generally are not expected to state the context every time we make a statement. A full proof logical statement will always make the context explicit before making a claim. For example - In natural language we can easily say that Spider-Man was bitten by a spider. However while making logical statement, it must be stated that Spider-Man is a fictional character and in the story Spider-Man was bitten by a spider.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 23 '23 at 20:37

It is more usual, in English at least, to refer to abstract statements in the present tense, such as three threes are nine, simultaneity is relative, you cannot square the circle, and so on. The problem with using the past tense is that it can imply that the fact you are describing was true in the past but is not any more.

Can I describe a non-existent object in the past tense?

3 Answers3