Goodman’s Many Worlds

Journal for the History of Analytical Philosophy 7 (6):1-25 (2019)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

In this paper, I examine Nelson Goodman’s pluriworldism, understood as the claim that there exists a plurality of actual worlds. This proposal has generally been quickly dismissed in the philosophical literature. I argue that we ought to take it more seriously. As I show, many of the prima facie objections to pluriworldism may receive straightforward answers. I also examine in detail Goodman’s argument for the conclusion that there are many worlds and attempt to show how it might be supported. Eventually, I discuss some underexplored challenges to pluriworldism.

Similar books and articles

Goodman and Putnam on the making of worlds.Damian Cox - 2003 - Erkenntnis 58 (1):33 - 46.
Construction and "worldmaking": the significance of Nelson Goodman's pluralism.Xavier de Donato Rodríguez - 2009 - Theoria: Revista de Teoría, Historia y Fundamentos de la Ciencia 24 (2):213-225.
The 'Umbau' - from Constitution Theory to Constructional Ontology.Johanna Seibt - 1997 - History of Philosophy Quarterly 14 (3):305 - 348.
The Self Well Lost.Peter J. Mehl - 1995 - Philosophy in the Contemporary World 2 (4):16-21.
Construction and Worldmaking: the Significance of Nelson Goodman’s Pluralism.Xavier De Donato-Rodríguez - 2009 - Theoria : An International Journal for Theory, History and Fundations of Science 24 (2):213-225.
Starmaking: Realism, Anti-Realism, and Irrealism.Tadeusz Szubka - 1997 - Review of Metaphysics 51 (1):164-164.
Goodman's Only World.Vladan Djordjevic - 2012 - In Majda Trobok, Nenad Miscevic & Berislav Zarnic (eds.), Between Logic and Reality: Modeling Inference, Action and Understanding. Springer. pp. 269.
Goodman and Parry on Counterfactual.Oswaldo Chateaubriand - 2011 - Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology 15 (3):383–397.

Analytics

Added to PP
2019-10-22

Downloads
174 (#107,590)

6 months
96 (#40,627)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Alexandre Declos
Université de Neuchâtel

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.Thomas S. Kuhn - 1962 - Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Edited by Ian Hacking.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.Thomas Samuel Kuhn - 1962 - Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Edited by Otto Neurath.
Counterfactuals.David K. Lewis - 1973 - Malden, Mass.: Blackwell.
The social construction of what?Ian Hacking - 1999 - Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

View all 54 references / Add more references