Abstract

What is the ontology of formal languages? What actually *are* well-formed formulas such as 'Fx' or 'p'? This issue has not been squarely addressed in the literature, still less has it been resolved. The paper does four things. First, it describes the standard view that formulas are symbol types. Second, it shows that the standard view is untenable. Third, it puts forward an alternative, structuralist view. Finally, it considers what, if anything, changes when we move from the standard to the structuralist view of the ontology of formal languages.