Concrete possible worlds and counterfactual conditionals

Lewis versus Williamson on modal knowledge

Andrea Sauchelli

pp. 345-359

in: Synthese 176 (3), 2010.

Abstract

The epistemology of modality is gradually coming to play a central role in general discussions about modality. This paper is a contribution in this direction, in particular I draw a comparison between Lewis’s Modal realism and Timothy Williamson’s recent account of modality in terms of counterfactual thinking. In order to have criteria of evaluation, I also formulate four requirements which are supposed to be met by any theory of modality to be epistemologically adequate.

Cited authors

Lewis David

Williamson Timothy