Modal fictionalism is a term used in
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
, and more specifically in the
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
of
modality
Modality may refer to:
Humanities
* Modality (theology), the organization and structure of the church, as distinct from sodality or parachurch organizations
* Modality (music), in music, the subject concerning certain diatonic scales
* Modaliti ...
, to describe the position that holds that modality can be analysed in terms of a fiction about
possible worlds. The theory comes in two versions: Strong and Timid. Both positions were first exposed by
Gideon Rosen
Gideon Rosen (born 1962) is an American philosopher. He is a Stuart Professor of Philosophy and the chair of the philosophy department at Princeton University, where he specializes in metaphysics, philosophy of mathematics, and ethics.
Educa ...
starting from 1990.
Strong fictionalism about possible worlds
According to strong fictionalism about possible worlds (another name for strong modal fictionalism), the following bi-conditionals are necessary and specify the truth-conditions for certain cases of modal claims:
# It is possible that P iff the translation of P into the language of a fiction F (containing possible worlds) holds according to F.
# It is necessary that P iff the translation of P into the language of a fiction F (containing possible worlds) always holds.
Recent supporters of this view added further specifications of these bi-conditionals to counter certain objections. In the case of claims of possibility, the revised bi-conditional is thus spelled out: (1.1) it is possible that P iff At this universe, presently, the translation of P into the language of a fiction F holds according to F.
Timid fictionalism about possible worlds
According to a timid version of fictionalism about possible worlds, our possible worlds can be properly understood as involving reference to a fiction, but the aforementioned bi-conditionals should not be taken as an analysis of certain cases of modality.
Objections and criticisms
* The Brock/Rosen objection
*
Artificiality
This objection can be spelled out in at least two ways: artificiality as contingency or artificiality as lack of accessibility.
* Hale dilemma
* Incompleteness
* Fictional fetishism
See also
*
Fictionalism
Fictionalism is the view in philosophy according to which statements that appear to be descriptions of the world should not be construed as such, but should instead be understood as cases of "make believe", of pretending to treat something as liter ...
References
"Modal fictionalism" at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy*
ttp://philpapers.org/rec/ROSMFGideon Rosen, 'Modal Fictionalism', ''Mind'', 99, 395 (1990), pp. 327–354.
Seahwa Kim, 'Modal Fictionalism and Analysis', in Mark Eli Kalderon (ed.), ''Fictionalism in Metaphysics'' (Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 116–33.
Andrea Sauchelli, 'Modal Fictionalism, Possible Worlds, and Artificiality', ''Acta Analytica'' (forthcoming)
Theories of deduction
Possible worlds
Metaphysical theories
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