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Modality - the question of what is possible and what is necessary - is a fundamental area of philosophy and philosophical research. The Routledge Handbook of Modality is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems and debates in this exciting subject and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising thirty-five chapters by a team of international contributors the Handbook is divided into seven clear parts:
- worlds and modality
- essentialism, ontological dependence, and modality
- modal anti-realism
- epistemology of modality
- modality in science
- modality in logic and mathematics
- modality in the history of philosophy.
Within these sections the central issues, debates and problems are examined, including possible worlds, essentialism, counterfactuals, ontological dependence, modal fictionalism, deflationism, the integration challenge, conceivability,
a priori knowledge, laws of nature, natural kinds, and logical necessity.
The Routledge Handbook of Modality is essential reading for students and researchers in epistemology, metaphysics and philosophy of language. It will also be very useful for those in related fields in philosophy such as philosophy of mathematics, logic and philosophy of science.
List of contents
Introduction .Modal Matters: Philosophical Significance Otávio Bueno and Scott A. Shalkowski Part 1: Worlds and Modality 1. Possible Worlds Michael De 2. Actualism Karen Bennett 3. Counterfactual Conditionals Dorothy Edgington 4. Impossibility and Impossible Worlds Daniel Nolan 5. Origins of Logical Space Brian Leftow Part 2: Essentialism, Ontological Dependence, and Modality 6. Essentialism and Modality Penelope Mackie 7. De Re Modality Boris Kment 8. Relativized Metaphysical Modality: Index and Context Benj Hellie, Adam Russell Murray, and Jessica Wilson 9. Ontological Dependence, Grounding, and Modality Fabrice Correia 10. Modalism Scott A. Shalkowski Part 3: Modal Anti-Realism 11. Modal Anti-Realism John Divers 12. Modal Conventionalism Ross Cameron 13. Norms and Modality Amie Thomasson Part 4: Epistemology of Modality 14. The Integration Challenge Sonia Roca-Royes 15. The Epistemic Idleness of Conceivability M. Oreste Fiocco 16. Epistemology, the Constitutive, and the Principle-Based Account of Modality Christopher Peacocke 17. Counterfactual-Based Approach Tim Williamson 18. Modality and A priori Knowledge Albert Casullo 19. Intuition and Modality: A Disjunctive-Social Account of Intuition-Based Justification in the Epistemology of Modality Anand Vaidya Part 5: Modality and the Metaphysics of Science 20. Modality and Scientific Structuralism Steven French 21. Laws of Nature, Natural Necessity, and Counterfactual Conditionals Marc Lange 22. Natural Kinds and Modality Alexander Bird 23. Modality in Physics Samuel C. Fletcher 24. Physical and Metaphysical Modality Ned Hall Part 6: Modality in Logic and Mathematics 25. Modality in Mathematics Øystein Linnebo and Stewart Shapiro 26. Modal Set Theory Christopher Menzel 27. The Logic of Metaphysical Modality Bob Hale 28. Modality and the Plurality of Logics Otávio Bueno Part 7: Modality in the History of Philosophy 29. Ancient Greek Modal Logic Robin Smith 30. Modality in Medieval Philosophy Stephen Read 31. Modality in Descartes's Philosophy Alan Nelson 32. Hume on Modality Peter Millican 33. Kant on Real Possibility Nick Stang 34. Quine on Modality Roberta Ballarin 35. Kripke on Modality John Burgess. Index
About the author
Otávio Bueno is Professor of Philosophy and Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami, USA. He is co-author of
Applying Mathematics: Immersion, Inference, Interpretation (2018), and editor in chief of
Synthese and of the
Synthese Library book series.
Scott A. Shalkowski is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Leeds, UK. With Otávio Bueno he is an author of the forthcoming Routledge book
Epistemology of Modality.
Summary
Essential reading for students and researchers in epistemology, metaphysics and philosophy of language. It will also be very useful for those in related fields in philosophy such as philosophy of mathematics, logic and philosophy of science.
