1st Edition
The Routledge Handbook of Modality
Modality - the question of what is possible and what is necessary - is a fundamental area of philosophy and philosophical research. The Routledge Handbook of Modality is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems and debates in this exciting subject and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising thirty-five chapters by a team of international contributors the Handbook is divided into seven clear parts:
- worlds and modality
- essentialism, ontological dependence, and modality
- modal anti-realism
- epistemology of modality
- modality in science
- modality in logic and mathematics
- modality in the history of philosophy.
Within these sections the central issues, debates and problems are examined, including possible worlds, essentialism, counterfactuals, ontological dependence, modal fictionalism, deflationism, the integration challenge, conceivability, a priori knowledge, laws of nature, natural kinds, and logical necessity.
The Routledge Handbook of Modality is essential reading for students and researchers in epistemology, metaphysics and philosophy of language. It will also be very useful for those in related fields in philosophy such as philosophy of mathematics, logic and philosophy of science.
Introduction .Modal Matters: Philosophical Significance Otávio Bueno and Scott A. Shalkowski
Part 1: Worlds and Modality
1. Possible Worlds Michael De
2. Actualism Karen Bennett
3. Counterfactual Conditionals Dorothy Edgington
4. Impossibility and Impossible Worlds Daniel Nolan
5. Origins of Logical Space Brian Leftow
Part 2: Essentialism, Ontological Dependence, and Modality
6. Essentialism and Modality Penelope Mackie
7. De Re Modality Boris Kment
8. Relativized Metaphysical Modality: Index and Context Benj Hellie, Adam Russell Murray, and Jessica Wilson
9. Ontological Dependence, Grounding, and Modality Fabrice Correia
10. Modalism Scott A. Shalkowski
Part 3: Modal Anti-Realism
11. Modal Anti-Realism John Divers
12. Modal Conventionalism Ross Cameron
13. Norms and Modality Amie Thomasson
Part 4: Epistemology of Modality
14. The Integration Challenge Sonia Roca-Royes
15. The Epistemic Idleness of Conceivability M. Oreste Fiocco
16. Epistemology, the Constitutive, and the Principle-Based Account of Modality Christopher Peacocke
17. Counterfactual-Based Approach Tim Williamson
18. Modality and A priori Knowledge Albert Casullo
19. Intuition and Modality: A Disjunctive-Social Account of Intuition-Based Justification in the Epistemology of Modality Anand Vaidya
Part 5: Modality and the Metaphysics of Science
20. Modality and Scientific Structuralism Steven French
21. Laws of Nature, Natural Necessity, and Counterfactual Conditionals Marc Lange
22. Natural Kinds and Modality Alexander Bird
23. Modality in Physics Samuel C. Fletcher
24. Physical and Metaphysical Modality Ned Hall
Part 6: Modality in Logic and Mathematics
25. Modality in Mathematics Øystein Linnebo and Stewart Shapiro
26. Modal Set Theory Christopher Menzel
27. The Logic of Metaphysical Modality Bob Hale
28. Modality and the Plurality of Logics Otávio Bueno
Part 7: Modality in the History of Philosophy
29. Ancient Greek Modal Logic Robin Smith
30. Modality in Medieval Philosophy Stephen Read
31. Modality in Descartes’s Philosophy Alan Nelson
32. Hume on Modality Peter Millican
33. Kant on Real Possibility Nick Stang
34. Quine on Modality Roberta Ballarin
35. Kripke on Modality John Burgess.
Index
Biography
Otávio Bueno is Professor of Philosophy and Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami, USA. He is co-author of Applying Mathematics: Immersion, Inference, Interpretation (2018), and editor in chief of Synthese and of the Synthese Library book series.
Scott A. Shalkowski is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Leeds, UK. With Otávio Bueno he is an author of the forthcoming Routledge book Epistemology of Modality.
