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Actuality, Possibility, and Worlds
Actuality, Possibility and Worlds is an exploration of the Aristotelian account that sees possibilities as grounded in causal powers. On his way to that account, Pruss surveys a number of historical approaches and argues that logicist approaches to possibility are implausible.
The notion of possible worlds appears to be useful for many purposes, such as the analysis of counterfactuals or elucidating the nature of propositions and properties. This usefulness of possible worlds makes for a second general Are there any possible worlds and, if so, what are they? Are they concrete universes as David Lewis thinks, Platonic abstracta as per Robert M. Adams and Alvin Plantinga, or maybe linguistic or mathematical constructs such as Heller thinks? Or is perhaps Leibniz right in thinking that possibilia are not on par with actualities and that abstracta can only exist in a mind, so that possible worlds are ideas in the mind of God?
The notion of possible worlds appears to be useful for many purposes, such as the analysis of counterfactuals or elucidating the nature of propositions and properties. This usefulness of possible worlds makes for a second general Are there any possible worlds and, if so, what are they? Are they concrete universes as David Lewis thinks, Platonic abstracta as per Robert M. Adams and Alvin Plantinga, or maybe linguistic or mathematical constructs such as Heller thinks? Or is perhaps Leibniz right in thinking that possibilia are not on par with actualities and that abstracta can only exist in a mind, so that possible worlds are ideas in the mind of God?
- GenresPhilosophyMetaphysics
320 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2011
About the author
Alexander R. Pruss
7 books31 followersCanadian philosopher, mathematician. Pruss's philosophical thought reflects Christian orthodoxy. He is a Roman Catholic and a member of the Society of Christian Philosophers.
Pruss defends the principle of sufficient reason (PSR), claiming that it is self-evident, and arguing that the rejection of PSR creates problems in epistemology, modality, ethics, and even evolutionary theory.
Pruss is a critic of David Lewis's "extreme modal realism," and instead gives "a combined account" of Leibnizian and Aristotelian modality, which integrates the "this-worldly capacities" of the Aristotelian view and Leibniz's account of possible worlds as thoughts in the mind of God.
Pruss defends the principle of sufficient reason (PSR), claiming that it is self-evident, and arguing that the rejection of PSR creates problems in epistemology, modality, ethics, and even evolutionary theory.
Pruss is a critic of David Lewis's "extreme modal realism," and instead gives "a combined account" of Leibnizian and Aristotelian modality, which integrates the "this-worldly capacities" of the Aristotelian view and Leibniz's account of possible worlds as thoughts in the mind of God.
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April 26, 2021
It's Pruss so obviously it's good.
I loved this book because it's just so dense, but it's clear if you take enough time with it. The best part of this book was probably his discussion of Lewis's EMR and its awkward ethical conclusions. There were definitely some concepts that went over my head, especially anything mathematical like set theory, but I don't think I missed too much. Overall, highly recommend this book as a discussion of modal logic and modality broadly assuming one has a philosophical background that includes Aristotle, Plato, and Leibniz; you also need a solid knowledge of symbolic logic...good luck understanding his discussion of modal axiom S5 if you can't do it.
I loved this book because it's just so dense, but it's clear if you take enough time with it. The best part of this book was probably his discussion of Lewis's EMR and its awkward ethical conclusions. There were definitely some concepts that went over my head, especially anything mathematical like set theory, but I don't think I missed too much. Overall, highly recommend this book as a discussion of modal logic and modality broadly assuming one has a philosophical background that includes Aristotle, Plato, and Leibniz; you also need a solid knowledge of symbolic logic...good luck understanding his discussion of modal axiom S5 if you can't do it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review