Quantified Subjunctives, Modality and Natural Law

Abstract

Historically, a great deal of philosophical energy has been expended on questions concerning causation and natural law. In this century, much of that energy has been focused on questions concerning the logical structure of natural law statements. Various of the positivists attempted to construct the logical structure of law from combinations of material connectives.¹ Some recent philosophers have argued that law statements are to be taken as standard alethic modal statements involving property entailment.² Some years back others began exploring connections between laws and subjunctive conditionals.³

I am indebted to my colleagues in the Calvin College Philosophy Department, most particularly Kenneth Konyndyk. I am most fiercely indebted, however, to Alvin Plantinga.