Abstract Modal Realism
- Created by: A. Person
- Created on: 16-05-17 18:10
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- Abstract Modal Realism
- Many abstract possible worlds
- Only one is instantiated
- Uninstantiated are just mistaken representations
- Relative Actuality
- Each world actual relative to itself.
- Only one is instantiated
- Stalnaker
- Labels AMR 'Actualists'
- Nothing real but the actual.
- Possible worlds merely properties of worlds/states of affairs/sets of sentences.
- Non-actual possible world exists, but is not instantiated.
- So actual world encompasses all that there is - the only thing that obtains.
- Possible worlds merely properties of worlds/states of affairs/sets of sentences.
- Nothing real but the actual.
- Labels AMR 'Actualists'
- Linguistic Abstractionism
- Possible worlds constructed out of language
- Sets of sentences which describe way world could have been.
- 'World-Making Language'
- Maximally consistent set.
- 'World-Making Language'
- Sets of sentences which describe way world could have been.
- Truth-At-World defined via set inclusion.
- Sentence S true at W iff S a member of W.
- Example: Harry Potter series... true according to fiction of HP that there's a school called Hogwarts.
- Evaluation
- PRO: Avoids 'Incredulous Stare'
- Many philosophers already committed to existence of 'abstract objects'
- Problem of names...
- Everything must have a name, and cannot have two names.
- Can use Lagadonian language (everything names itself)
- But if an entity doesn't exist, it cannot have a Lagadonian name!
- Response - qualitative descriptions of non-actual entities?
- Counter: 'Alien properties...'
- Suppose there's a simple world where only certain properties exist.
- Another world with property not instantiated in simple world
- Simple world labels it 'alien'...cannot be described using existing resources.
- World-making lang impoverished
- can individuate via genralisations?
- World-making lang impoverished
- + a form of nonactualised abstracta! which dont want
- reply - not nonactual; just unactualised.
- Simple world labels it 'alien'...cannot be described using existing resources.
- Another world with property not instantiated in simple world
- Suppose there's a simple world where only certain properties exist.
- Counter: 'Alien properties...'
- Response - qualitative descriptions of non-actual entities?
- But if an entity doesn't exist, it cannot have a Lagadonian name!
- Can use Lagadonian language (everything names itself)
- Everything must have a name, and cannot have two names.
- Maximal and consistent a modal notion.
- i.e. what could be true together.
- Can replace w/ syntactic stipulation -- i.e. consistent if no contradiction derived!
- But what about non-logical contradictions (unmarried bachelors) - have to introduce in non-logical axioms...
- i.e. necessary truth!!!!!!!!
- i.e. what could be true together.
- PRO: Avoids 'Incredulous Stare'
- Possible worlds constructed out of language
- Many abstract possible worlds
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