Modal fictionalism

Modal fictionalism

Modal fictionalism is a term used in philosophy, and more specifically in modal logic, to describe the position that holds that talk of possible worlds is actually false, though adopting such a discourse may be a useful fiction. A contrast to the position of modal fictionalism would be the position of modal realism, which holds that possible worlds exist and are as real as our world. Modal realism was most famously advanced by the 20th-century thinker David Lewis.

See also

References



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fictionalism — is a methodological theory in philosophy that suggests that statements of a certain sort should not be taken to be literally true, but merely as a useful fiction. Two important strands of fictionalism are modal fictionalism (which states that… …   Wikipedia

  • Modal logic — is a type of formal logic that extends classical propositional and predicate logic to include operators expressing modality. Modals words that express modalities qualify a statement. For example, the statement John is happy might be qualified by… …   Wikipedia

  • Modal operator — In modal logic, a modal operator is an operator which forms propositions from propositions. In general, a modal operator has the formal property of being non truth functional, and is intuitively characterised by expressing a modal attitude (such… …   Wikipedia

  • Epistemic modal logic — is a subfield of modal logic that is concerned with reasoning about knowledge. While epistemology has a long philosophical tradition dating back to Ancient Greece, epistemic logic is a much more recent development with applications in many fields …   Wikipedia

  • Outline of logic — The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to logic: Logic – formal science of using reason, considered a branch of both philosophy and mathematics. Logic investigates and classifies the structure of statements and… …   Wikipedia

  • David Kellogg Lewis — Infobox Philosopher region = Western Philosophy era = 20th century philosophy color = #B0C4DE name = David Kellogg Lewis birth = September 28, 1941 flagicon|USA|size=20px Oberlin, Ohio death = October 14, 2001 flagicon|USA|size=20px Princeton,… …   Wikipedia

  • Philosophical realism — Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief that our reality, or some aspect of it, is ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc. Realism may be spoken of with respect to other minds, the past,… …   Wikipedia

  • Philosophy of mathematics — The philosophy of mathematics is the branch of philosophy that studies the philosophical assumptions, foundations, and implications of mathematics. The aim of the philosophy of mathematics is to provide an account of the nature and methodology of …   Wikipedia

  • Logicism — is one of the schools of thought in the philosophy of mathematics, putting forth the theory that mathematics is an extension of logic and therefore some or all mathematics is reducible to logic.[1] Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead… …   Wikipedia

  • Natural deduction — In logic and proof theory, natural deduction is a kind of proof calculus in which logical reasoning is expressed by inference rules closely related to the natural way of reasoning. This contrasts with the axiomatic systems which instead use… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”