Three Conceptions of Modal Realism

The thesis is divided into three sections. The first of these is a critique of the conceptions of modal realism due to Lewis; the second, a critique of that due to McGinn. The third section comprises the development and initial evaluation of a third conception of moral realism which I term secondary modal realism. In Section One of the thesis [Ch.1- Ch.5] I argue against the acceptability of the objectual modal realism of David Lewis and I argue (tentatively) for one theory of the meaning of possible world statements which is consistent with this denial of the existence of possible worlds. Chapters 1- 4 concern the former argument, Ch.5 concerns the latter. In Ch.1, I argue that there is no genuine semantic utility afforded by the adoption of realism about possible worlds. The case is (i) that the genuine semantical utility which does accrue via the ontological commitment to possible worlds can be had without that ontological commitmment and (ii) that other claims to semanti utility which are associated with possible world semantics do not reflect legitimate semantic-explanatory interests. The main part of the discussion of objectual realism - constituted by Chapters 2, 3 & 4 - takes a different turn. Since Lewis is fond of comparing his modal realism to realism about the entities of mathematics, I attempt to show that, on both epistemological and metaphysical grounds, the comparison is quite unfavourable for objectual modal realism. In Ch.2, I defend the objectual modal realist's right to an a priori epistemology of modality in face of Benaceraffs dilemma, but, it is argued in Ch.3, even granted a priority, there is still a serious epistemological difficulty since the internal epistemology of modal realism which is proposed by Lewis is seriously flawed. In Ch.4, it is argued that there is at least one important metaphysical consideration which militates against an ontological commitment to worlds but which does not appear to have the same impact re. mathematical ontology, viz: that the mooted possible worlds are identification- transcendent. Having made the case for anti-realism about possible worlds I am concerned in Ch.5 with the outline of a theory of the meaning of possible world statements which is consistent with this ontological position. I argue for the unacceptability of a theory, outlined by Forbes, which depends upon the claim that possible world statements do not mean what they appear to mean. I then counterpose the options of an error theory and a metaphor theory of world-talk arguing that while both of these are prima facie tenable, the latter is preferable. In Section Two of the thesis [Ch.6 - Ch.9] I deal with the non-objectual modal realism of McGinn. Having set out the salient theses of McGinn's conception of modal realism [Ch.6], the critique of this conception follows. Ch. 6: the variety and resources of anti-realisms about modality are seriously underestimated by McGinn. In particular the option of anti-realism based on the strategy of proposing a sceptical solution as a response to a sceptical paradox is ignored. Ch.7: McGinn proposes that the only defensible form of modal realism consists in endorsing the thesis of supervenience (without reduction) of the modal on the actual. However, the discussion of supervenience fails to acknowledge many of the difficulties associated with the application of supervenience and related theses in the modal case. Furthermore, there is every reason to believe that acceptance of modal/actual supervenience involves no commitment to modal realism. Ch.8: consideration of the issues that flow from the discussion of the thesis of supervenience should point towards a central question of modal epistemology i.e. whether modal knowledge is attainable by conceptual means alone. However, McGinn's discussion of supervenience leads him away from this central question and as a result he mislocates the problematic nature of modal epistemology in the claim that we cannot represent modal facts as causally explaining our knowledge of them. Ch.9:The modal realism that McGinn offers is wholly unacceptable since it provides neither a clear conception of the truth-conditions of modal statements nor any account of how we detect modalities. The realism he offers is redolent of sceptical paradox and seems ripe for an anti-realist treatment in the form of a sceptical solution. Hence, the upshot of the first two sections is that the existing conceptions of modal realism, i.e. those of Lewis and of McGinn respectively, are indefensible. In Section Three of the thesis [Ch.10 - Ch. 12] the aim is to characterize and evaluate a third conception of modal realism - secondary modal realism. This project is inspired by (i) McDowell's secondary quality conception of moral reality and (ii) the observation of crucial similarities between the failings of more traditional conceptions of moral realism and those conceptions of modal realisms dealt with above. In Ch.10, I argue that anthropocentricity as opposed to perceptibility is the feature of paradigmatic secondary properties which is an appropriately generalizable feature of secondary realism and that a proper conception of the standard of correctness for secondary property judgments facilitates the extrapolation of that standard to the cases of moral and modal judgement. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)

Rule analysis and social analysis

This thesis investigates the use of rules in the analysis of language mastery and human action, which are both viewed as social phenomena. The investigation is conducted through an examination of two analyses of the use of language in everyday social life and documents how each formulates a different understanding of rule-following in explaining linguistic and social action. The analyses in question are ‘Speech Act Theory' and 'Ethnomethodology'. The principal idea of speech act theory is that social action is rule-governed, and the theory attempts to explain the possibility of meaningful social interaction on that basis. The rigidities imposed by the notion of rule-governance frustrate that aim. The thesis then turns to an examination of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis and contrasts the notion of rule-orientation developed by that perspective. From that examination it becomes clear that what is on offer is not just a greater flexibility in the use of rules, but a restructuring of the concept of analysis itself. It is argued that re-structuring amounts to a reflexive conception of analysis. Its meaning and implications are enlarged upon through a close scrutiny of the later philosophy of Wittgenstein, particularly his concern with the nature of rule-following in his ‘Philosophical Investigations'. The thesis argues that his concern with rules was motivated by his insight that their use as ‘explanations’ of action said as much about the formulater of the rule as the activities the rules were held to formulate. The thesis concludes by outlining the meaning of this analytic reflexivity for social scientific findings

Russell, Quine and Wittgenstein in pursuit of truth: A comparative study.

Understanding the intellectual competition facing a philosopher gives a clearer sense of the depth of his work. This thesis is concerned with the reactions of Wittgenstein and Quine to Russell's foundationalism in epistemology. In particular it is concerned with the foundations of mathematics. Wittgenstein's conception of language is the deep source of his philosophy of mathematics. That is why the study of the Wittgensteinian account of mathematical truth goes beyond the limits of reflection on mathematics and extends to the philosophy of language and logic. The claim is that contrary to the framework of thought of both Russell and Quine, there is no language / reality dichotomy. Russell's search for indubitable foundations of knowledge and in particular his attempt to establish the foundations of mathematics in logic is misguided. The very supposition that mathematics needs foundations is an illusion. It is an attempt to transcend the bounds of sense. The epistemological riddles faced by Russell and Quine disappear in the later Wittgensteinian understanding of the matter. They collapse into logical insights. Following modern debates in epistemology, Russell is looking for a proof of the 'external world'. This traditional line of thought continues in Quine's notion of 'The myth of physical objects'. Though Quine's naturalized epistemology is a reaction against foundationalism, the dichotomy in question, still remains. This is finally disposed of, by Wittgenstein's later conception of language. To complete the layout of the discussions; it is demonstrated that the idea of the alleged dichotomy lies behind the arguments of Einstein, Hilbert and all of the logical positivists. Instead of pursuing the source of necessity of a pr/or/propositions in the world or in the mind, we may explore the function of such propositions. Once their role has been properly grasped, the very disturbing epistemological riddles disappear. The absolute certainty of the propositions of logic and mathematics resides in the role that they play in our practice of inference and calculation. According to Russell's account in Principia Mathematica it is a fundamental law of logic that the proposition 'Q' follows from the proposition 'P & (P -- Q)'. But what does this 'following' consist in? There is nothing in reality that provides a foundation for this inference. Logical and mathematical propositions define the techniques of inference and calculation. There is no foundation for our techniques that could justify them from the point of view of a non-participant in the practice. That is why it makes no sense to doubt logical or mathematical propositions. Russell's total loss of the 'objective world' is the inevitable outcome of his understanding of the problem. His scepticism concerning the ordinary empirical judgements is against the mastery of a technique in the practice of describing the world. Without that technique, we would be unable to think or to use language. Our certainty concerning these judgements is a practical certainty that shows how the expressions of our language are used. The function of these judgements makes the question of establishing their ground out of place

The mathematicization of nature.

This thesis defends the Quine-Putnam indispensability argument for mathematical realism and introduces a new indispensability argument for a substantial conception of truth. Chapters 1 and 2 formulate the main components of the Quine-Putnam argument, namely that virtually all scientific laws quantify over mathematical entities and thus logically presuppose the existence thereof. Chapter 2 contains a detailed discussion of the logical structure of some scientific theories that incorporate or apply mathematics. Chapter 3 then reconstructs the central assumptions of Quine's argument, concluding (provocatively) that "science entails platonism". Chapter 4 contains a brief discussion of some major theories of truth, including deflationary views (redundancy, disquotation). Chapter 5 introduces a new argument against such deflationary views, based on certain logical properties of truth theories. Chapter 6 contains a further discussion of mathematical truth. In particular, non-standard conceptions of mathematical truth such as "if-thenism" and "hermeneuticism". Chapter 7 introduces the programmes of reconstrual and reconstruction proposed by recent nominalism. Chapters 8 discusses modal nominalism, concluding that modalism is implausible as an interpretation of mathematics (if taken seriously, it suffers from exactly those epistemological problems allegedly suffered by realism). Chapter 9 discusses Field's deflationism, whose central motivating idea is that mathematics is (pace Quine and Putnam) dispensable in applications. This turns on a conservativeness claim which, as Shapiro pointed out in 1983, must be incorrect (using Godel's Theorems). I conclude in Chapter 10 that nominalistic views of mathematics and deflationist views of truth are both inadequate to the overall explanatory needs of science