Skip to main content
Log in

Modal Fictionalism and Compositionality

Philosophical Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Modal fictionalists propose to defuse the unwanted ontological commitments of modal realism by treating modal realism as a fictional story, and modal assertions as assertions, prefixed by a fictionalist operator, that something is true in that story. However, consideration of conditionals with modal antecedents raises the problem ofembedding, which shows that the simple prefixing strategy cannotsucceed. A compositional version of the fictionalist strategy isdeveloped and critiqued, and some general semantic morals aredrawn from the failures of both strategies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Brock, Stuart (1993): ‘Modal Fictionalism: A Reply to Rosen’, Mind 102, 147–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chihara, Charles (1998): The Worlds of Possibility, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geach, P.T. (1972): ‘Assertion’, LogicMatters, Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hale, Bob (1995): ‘Modal Fictionalism: A Simple Dilemma’, Analysis 55, 63–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hale, Bob (1995a): ‘A Desperate Fix’, Analysis 55, 74–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nolan, Dan (1995): ‘Three Problems For ‘strong’ Modal Fictionalism’, Philosophical Studies 104, 259–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noonan, Harold (1994): ‘In Defence of the Letter of Modal Fictionalism’, Analysis 54, 133–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, Gideon (1990): ‘Modal Fictionalism’, Mind 99, 327–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, Gideon (1993): ‘A Problem for Fictionalism About Possible Worlds’, Analysis 53, 71–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, Gideon (1995): ‘Modal Fictionalism Fixed’, Analysis 55, 68–73.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dever, J. Modal Fictionalism and Compositionality. Philosophical Studies 114, 223–251 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024967701483

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024967701483

Keywords

Navigation