The syntactic priority thesis and ontological disputes

The article focuses on the neo-Fregean's claim that syntactic priority thesis (SP) can constitute a decision-procedure in relation to substantive ontological disputes. It examines alternative interpretations of SP and demonstrates why SP cannot settle disputes about the existence of numbers or deliver on the stronger meta-ontological claims made on behalf it. Problems associated with the attempt to establish ontological theses through logical and linguistic analysis are tackled.