Abstract
Inspired by two-dimensional modal logic, some have sought to provide analyses of the notion of the contingent a priori which identify the a priori with truths which have a necessary diagonal. I argue that these analyses fail insofar as they miss the crucial epistemic aspect of the a priori. Augmenting these analyses with specifically epistemic accounts might be possible, but the interest would then reside in these epistemic accounts of the a priori and not in the formal models.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Brandom, R. (1994): Making it Explicit, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Brandom, R. (2000): Articulating Reasons, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Coffa, J.A. (1991): The Semantic Tradition from Kant to Carnap, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Davies, M. and Humberstone, I.L. (1980): ‘Two Notions of Necessity’, Philosophical Studies 38, 1–30.
Evans, G. (1979): ‘Reference and Contingency’, Monist 62, 161–189.
Harman, G. (1987): ‘(Nonsolipsistic) Conceptual Role Semantics’, in E. LePore (ed.), New Directions in Semantics (pp. 55–81), London: Academic Press.
Jackson, F. (1998): From Metaphysics to Ethics, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Kripke, S. (1980): Naming and Necessity, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Lewis, D. (1983): ‘Truth in Fiction’, in Philosophical Papers, Volume 1, Oxford University Press.
Lewis, D. (1994): ‘Reduction of Mind’, in S. Guttenplan (ed.), Companion to the Philosophy of Mind, Oxford: Blackwell.
Michael, M. (1998): ‘Tichy on Kripke on A posteriori Necessities’, Philosophical Studies 92, 113–126.
Stalnaker, R. (1979): ‘Assertion’, in P. Cole (ed.), Syntax and Semantics: Pragmatics, Vol. 9, Academic Press.
Tichy, P. (1983): ‘Kripke on Necessity A posteriori’, Philosophical Studies 43, 225–241.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Michael, M. The Problems with Double-Indexing Accounts of the A priori . Philosophical Studies 118, 67–81 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PHIL.0000019543.81077.d2
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PHIL.0000019543.81077.d2