Beebee, H orcid.org/0000-0001-7650-3622 and MacBride, F (2015) De re modality, essentialism, and lewis’s humeanism. In: A Companion to David Lewis. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy . Wiley Online Library , pp. 220-236. ISBN 9781118388181
Abstract
Modality is standardly thought to come in two varieties: de dicto and de re. De re modality concerns the attribution of modal features to things or individuals, and enshrines a commitment to Aristotelian essentialism. This chapter considers how David Lewis’s conception of de re modality fits into his overall metaphysics. The hypothesis is that the driving force behind his metaphysics in general, and his adherence to counterpart theory in particular, is the distinctly Humean thought that necessary connections between distinct existences are literally unintelligible. Lewis’s appeal to counterpart theory in his account of truthmakers is explicitly aimed at delivering a truthmaker principle that eschews necessary connections. Lewis’s attitude towards several well-rehearsed debates in contemporary ontology and the reasons underlying that attitude closely mirror Hume’s incendiary verdict on “divinity and school metaphysics.” Finally, de re modality is connected with his adherence to the doctrine of “Humean supervenience”.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Keywords: | Aristotelian essentialism, David Lewis, de re modality, Humean supervenience, metaphysics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > School of Philosophy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 02 Aug 2023 12:18 |
Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 12:18 |
Published Version: | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/978111... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley Online Library |
Series Name: | Blackwell Companions to Philosophy |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/9781118398593.ch14 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:183984 |