Modality And Explanatory Reasoning
DOWNLOAD
Download Modality And Explanatory Reasoning PDF/ePub or read online books in Mobi eBooks. Click Download or Read Online button to get Modality And Explanatory Reasoning book now. This website allows unlimited access to, at the time of writing, more than 1.5 million titles, including hundreds of thousands of titles in various foreign languages. If the content not found or just blank you must refresh this page
Modality And Explanatory Reasoning
DOWNLOAD
Author : Boris Christian Kment
language : en
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Release Date : 2014
Modality And Explanatory Reasoning written by Boris Christian Kment and has been published by Oxford University Press, USA this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2014 with Philosophy categories.
Argues that the concepts of necessity and possibility originate in a common type of thought experiment, counterfactual reasoning, that allows us to investigate explanatory connections and is colsely related to the controlled experiments of empirical science.
Modality And Explanatory Reasoning
DOWNLOAD
Author : Boris Kment
language : en
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Release Date : 2014-09-18
Modality And Explanatory Reasoning written by Boris Kment and has been published by OUP Oxford this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2014-09-18 with Philosophy categories.
Since the ground-breaking work of Saul Kripke, David Lewis, and others in the 1960s and 70s, one dominant interest of analytic philosophers has been in modal truths, which concerns the questions of what is possible and what is necessary. However, there is considerable controversy over the source and nature of necessity. In Modality and Explanatory Reasoning, Boris Kment takes a novel approach to the study of modality that places special emphasis on understanding the origin of modal notions in everyday thought. Kment argues that the concepts of necessity and possibility originate in a common type of thought experiment—counterfactual reasoning—that allows us to investigate explanatory connections. This procedure is closely related to the controlled experiments of empirical science. Necessity is defined in terms of causation and other forms of explanation such as grounding, the relation that connects metaphysically fundamental facts to non-fundamental ones. Therefore, contrary to a widespread view, explanation is more fundamental than modality. The study of modal facts is important for philosophy, not because these facts are of much metaphysical interest in their own right, but because they provide evidence about explanatory relationships. In the course of developing this position, the book offers new accounts of possible worlds, counterfactual conditionals, essential truths and their role in grounding, and a novel theory of how counterfactuals relate to causation and explanation.
Epistemology Of Modality And Philosophical Methodology
DOWNLOAD
Author : Anand Vaidya
language : en
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Release Date : 2023-03-21
Epistemology Of Modality And Philosophical Methodology written by Anand Vaidya and has been published by Taylor & Francis this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2023-03-21 with Philosophy categories.
This book collects original essays on the epistemology of modality and related issues in modal metaphysics and philosophical methodology. The contributors utilize both the newer "metaphysics-first" and the more traditional "epistemology-first" approaches to these issues. The chapters on modal epistemology mostly focus on the problem of how we can gain knowledge of possibilities, which have never been actualized, or necessities which are not provable either by logico-mathematical reasoning or by linguistic competence alone. These issues are closely related to some of the central issues in philosophical methodology, notably: to what extent is the armchair methodology of philosophy a reliable guide for the formation of beliefs about what is possible and necessary. This question also relates to the nature of thought experiments that are extensively used in science and philosophy. Epistemology of Modality and Philosophical Methodology will be of interest to researchers and advanced students working on the epistemology and metaphysics of modality, as well as those whose work is concerned with philosophical methodology more generally.
The Routledge Handbook Of Modality
DOWNLOAD
Author : Otávio Bueno
language : en
Publisher: Routledge
Release Date : 2020-12-30
The Routledge Handbook Of Modality written by Otávio Bueno and has been published by Routledge this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020-12-30 with Philosophy categories.
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.
Williamson On Modality
DOWNLOAD
Author : Juhani Yli-Vakkuri
language : en
Publisher: Routledge
Release Date : 2018-10-18
Williamson On Modality written by Juhani Yli-Vakkuri and has been published by Routledge this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-10-18 with Philosophy categories.
Timothy Williamson is one of the most influential living philosophers working in the areas of logic and metaphysics. His work in these areas has been particularly influential in shaping debates about metaphysical modality, which is the topic of his recent provocative and closely-argued book Modal Logic as Metaphysics (2013). This book comprises ten essays by metaphysicians and logicians responding to Williamson’s work on metaphysical modality, as well as replies by Williamson to each essay. In addition, it contains an original essay by Williamson, ‘Modal science,’ concerning the role of modal claims in natural science. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Philosophy.
Modal Epistemology After Rationalism
DOWNLOAD
Author : Bob Fischer
language : en
Publisher: Springer
Release Date : 2016-11-09
Modal Epistemology After Rationalism written by Bob Fischer and has been published by Springer this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-11-09 with Philosophy categories.
This collection highlights the new trend away from rationalism and toward empiricism in the epistemology of modality. Accordingly, the book represents a wide range of positions on the empirical sources of modal knowledge. Readers will find an introduction that surveys the field and provides a brief overview of the work, which progresses from empirically-sensitive rationalist accounts to fully empiricist accounts of modal knowledge. Early chapters focus on challenges to rationalist theories, essence-based approaches to modal knowledge, and the prospects for naturalizing modal epistemology. The middle chapters present positive accounts that reject rationalism, but which stop short of advocating exclusive appeal to empirical sources of modal knowledge. The final chapters mark a transition toward exclusive reliance on empirical sources of modal knowledge. They explore ways of making similarity-based, analogical, inductive, and abductive arguments for modal claims based on empirical information. Modal epistemology is coming into its own as a field, and this book has the potential to anchor a new research agenda.
Wondering About The Impossible On The Semantics Of Counterpossibles
DOWNLOAD
Author : Maciej Sendłak
language : en
Publisher: Springer Nature
Release Date : 2024-07-26
Wondering About The Impossible On The Semantics Of Counterpossibles written by Maciej Sendłak and has been published by Springer Nature this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2024-07-26 with Philosophy categories.
This book provides an in-depth analysis of the nature and role of hypothetical reasoning about impossibilities. The interest in this subject stems from the simple observation that wondering is an inherent aspect of our experience. Whether one regrets choosing a taxicab over the subway or contemplates the outcome of an election turning out differently, the question 'What would have happened if...?' is a familiar one. While we often focus on possible scenarios, we also ponder impossible ones: What if whales were fish? What if a man could be in two places at once? What if one could draw a round square? Puzzles concerning such questions sparked a heated discussion over the nature and role of hypothetical reasoning about impossibilities. This book goes beyond being an opinionated introduction to this debate. After comparing various approaches to this issue, it proposes a novel perspective that draws on considerations from epistemology and the philosophy of explanation and dependence. Targeting researchers and students interested in the philosophy of modalities, this book delivers an in-depth analysis of a captivating and often overlooked aspect of human reasoning.
Essence
DOWNLOAD
Author : Martin Glazier
language : en
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Release Date : 2022-12-01
Essence written by Martin Glazier and has been published by Cambridge University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2022-12-01 with Philosophy categories.
This Element examines the contemporary literature on essence in connection with the traditional question whether essence lies within or without our world. Section 1 understands this question in terms of a certain distinction, the distinction between active and latent facts. Section 2 steps back to investigate the connections between essence and other philosophical concepts. Section 3 brings the results of this investigation to bear on the traditional question, sketching an argument from the premise that essentialist facts are explained by the origins of things to the conclusion that such facts are active.
The Routledge Handbook Of Metaphysical Grounding
DOWNLOAD
Author : Michael J. Raven
language : en
Publisher: Routledge
Release Date : 2020-05-04
The Routledge Handbook Of Metaphysical Grounding written by Michael J. Raven and has been published by Routledge this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020-05-04 with Philosophy categories.
Some of philosophy’s biggest questions, both historically and today, are in-virtue-of questions: In virtue of what is an action right or wrong? In virtue of what am I the same person my mother bore? In virtue of what is an artwork beautiful? Philosophers attempt to answer many of these types of in-virtue-of questions, but philosophers are also increasingly focusing on what an in-virtue-of question is in the first place. Many assume, at least as a working hypothesis, that in-virtue-of questions involve a distinctively metaphysical kind of determinative explanation called “ground.” This Handbook surveys the state of the art on ground as well as its connections and applications to other topics. The central issues of ground are discussed in 37 chapters, all written exclusively for this volume by a wide range of leading experts. The chapters are organized into the following sections: I. History II. Explanation and Determination III. Logic and Structure IV. Connections V. Applications Introductions at the start of each section provide an overview of the section’s contents, and a list of Related Topics at the end of each chapter points readers to other germane areas throughout the volume. The resulting volume is accessible enough for advanced students and informative enough for researchers. It is essential reading for anyone hoping to get clearer on what the biggest questions of philosophy are really asking.
The Routledge Handbook Of Essence In Philosophy
DOWNLOAD
Author : Kathrin Koslicki
language : en
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Release Date : 2024-05-15
The Routledge Handbook Of Essence In Philosophy written by Kathrin Koslicki and has been published by Taylor & Francis this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2024-05-15 with Philosophy categories.
Essences have been assigned important but controversial explanatory roles in philosophical, scientific, and social theorizing. Is it possible for the same organism to be first a caterpillar and then a butterfly? Is it impossible for a human being to transform into an insect like Gregor Samsa does in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis? Is it impossible for Lot’s wife to survive being turned into a pillar of salt? Traditionally, essences (or natures) have been thought to help answer such central questions about existence, identity, persistence, and modality. These questions are not only of great philosophical interest, they also are of great interest to society at large. This Handbook surveys the state of the art on essence. Core issues about essence are discussed in 33 chapters, all of them written exclusively for this volume by leading experts. They are organized into the following four major parts, each with its own introduction that provides a summary and comparison of the part’s chapters: History Essence and Essentialisms: Themes and Variations Applications Anti-Essentialist Challenges. The volume is accessible enough for students while also providing enough details to make it a valuable reference for researchers. While the notion of essence has been targeted for sustained criticisms since antiquity, recent work has renewed interest in the topic. This Handbook explains and synthesizes much of this current interest, placing essence within its historical context and drawing connections to many contemporary areas of philosophy as well as to scholarly work in other disciplines. With cross-references in each chapter and a comprehensive index, The Routledge Handbook of Essence in Philosophy is a useful resource and essential reading for anyone, whether in or out of academic philosophy, seeking clarification on one of philosophy’s most distinctive and notorious notions.