Is the question "Must you have eaten all the food" correct when used in the past obligatory sense?
The best examples I can find are quite ambiguous.
"Must He have been less than perfectly kind to one of His creatures? I do not think it can reasonably be argued that in such a case God must have wronged one of His creatures."
-Kopelman, L.M. and Moskop, J.C.; Ethics and Mental Retardation, 1984 [pg. 130]
If you change the question to read as follows it seems to share a similar intent:
"Did He have to be less than perfectly kind to one of His creatures? I do not think it can reasonably be argued that in such a case God must have wronged one of His creatures."
I am looking for solid references or consensus as to why "much" can't be used in the past deontic sense.
No comments:
Post a Comment