Impossibility and Impossible Worlds

Possible worlds have found many applications in contemporary philosophy: from theories of possibility and necessity, to accounts of conditionals, to theories of mental and linguistic content, to understanding supervenience relationships, to theories of properties and propositions, among many other applications. Almost as soon as possible worlds started to be used in formal theories in logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and elsewhere, theorists started to wonder whether impossible worlds should be postulated as well. In many applications, possible worlds face limitations that can be dealt with through postulating impossible worlds as well. This chapter examines some of the uses of impossible worlds, and philosophical challenges theories of impossible worlds face

Safety, the Preface Paradox and Possible Worlds Semantics

This paper contains an argument to the effect that possible worlds semantics renders semantic knowledge impossible, no matter what ontological interpretation is given to possible worlds. The essential contention made is that possible worlds semantic knowledge is unsafe and this is shown by a parallel with the preface paradox

A Modal Translational Semantics in Prior’s “Symbolism and Analogy”

This paper explores a modal semantics Arthur Prior developed in his 1957 lecture, “Symbolism and Analogy.” Prior’s semantics employs a translational scheme where certain modal axioms are translated as sentences in an easily understood language. Using Prior’s semantics, we show that one can distinguish between modal logics like D, M, T, S4, and S5 without recourse to possible worlds. Finally, given the current conception of what a semantics ought to be, we consider whether Prior’s modal semantics is indeed a semantics

The NPW framework in future-oriented studies of cultural agency

The network of possible worlds, or NPW for short, offers a theoretical framework where cultural agency can be systematically linked with such central concepts of future-oriented studies as future path, scenario, actor, vision, trend, weak signal, future awareness and foresight development. Time is embedded in a NPW in two ways: the NPW itself is temporally structured, and the actors navigating within the NPW are equipped with cognitive models of time. The framework can be applied not only in the study of theoretical and empirical aspects of cultural agency, but also in the political management of human societies, including the forecasting of religious and ethnic dynamics. It provides tools for capturing the special characteristics of cultural agency. Therefore, it is an essential tool in understanding the religious and ethnic futures of Europe

Possible (Life)World Semiotics: On Inter-Textual Formations Amongst Advertising, Literary and Filmic Texts

The theory of counterfactuals has been widely applied in economic[1] and management sciences, including marketing.[2] Among the various facets of the counterfactuals literature that have been addressed by branches of phi­losophy and linguistics, such as philosophy of language, logical semantics, linguistic semantics, modal fictionalism, pragmatics, I am focusing on the specific topic of possible worlds. In particular, by drawing on semantics, textual semiotics and rhetoric, I am addressing how fictive elements, em­bedded in a fabular world and once conceived of as counterfactual, achieve to be actualized in advertising discourse as part of our cultural world. By adopting Eco's fundamental premise that our world is first and foremost culturally constituted, and by recruiting rhetoric as an essential comple­ment of a hybrid semantic/textual semiotic approach, I venture into the fantasy island of cinematic and literary fiction, only to show that this and other possible worlds are not that far apart. The managerial applications for brand genealogists, but also in terms of developing advertising texts by drawing on a combinatorial logic of properties and individuals from fictive worlds, are highlighted as an addendum to the practical implica­tions of philosophical and semiotic theory.[1]  See, for example, G. S. Murphy, "On Counterfactual Propositions", History and Theory Vol.9 (1969): 14-38.[2]       See the special issue of Psychology Marketing (Vol. 17.4, 2000) on counterfactual think­ing, focusing on psychological aspects of counterfactuals from a cognitive psychological point of view

Semantika mogućih svjetova, fikcija i kreativnost

In the paper we will study the notions of possible-worlds semantics, fiction, and creativity. The intention is to show how the notion of possible-worlds semantics allows us to generate a fresh interpretation of the notions of fiction and creativity. To do this, we have to consider the philosophy of logic. Possible-worlds semantics can be used in interpreting modal notions. The intention is to interpret the notions of fiction and creativity as modal notions. However, the analysis shows that the notions of fiction and creativity are multimodal notions.U tekstu razmatramo pojmove semantike mogućih svjetova, fikciju i kreativnost. Nakana nam je pokazati kako semantika mogućih svjetova omogućuje generiranje nove interpretacije pojmova fikcije i kreativnosti. Kako bismo to učinili, moramo razmotriti filozofiju logike. Semantika mogućih svjetova može se koristiti u interpretiranju modalnih pojmova. U tekstu interpretiramo pojmove fikcije i kreativnosti kao modalne pojmove. Međutim, naša analiza pokazuje da su pojmovi fikcije i kreativnosti multimodalni pojmovi

A formal proof of modal completeness for provability logic

This work presents a formalized proof of modal completeness for G\"odel-L\"ob provability logic (GL) in the HOL Light theorem prover. We describe the code we developed, and discuss some details of our implementation, focusing on our choices in structuring proofs which make essential use of the tools of HOL Light and which differ in part from the standard strategies found in main textbooks covering the topic in an informal setting. Moreover, we propose a reflection on our own experience in using this specific theorem prover for this formalization task, with an analysis of pros and cons of reasoning within and about the formal system for GL we implemented in our code

Jaakko Hintikka

In Memoriam: Jaakko Hintikka (I-12-1929 Vantaa - VIII-12-2015 Porvoo