On the Prospects of Modal Fictionalism

Gnosis 8 (2):31-47 (2007)
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Abstract

I argue that fictionalism is an unpromising alternative to realism in two important respects. First, fictionalism offers a less satisfactory modal semantics because the incorporated fictive operator is itself modal and its results differ significantly from realism. Second, fictionalism struggles to provide us with a satisfactory account of the ontological grounding of modal truth and finds itself in opposition to several influential accounts of fictional objects which I discuss. I conclude by suggesting that, given the fictionalist’s motivation, a more promising avenue of research would be the older and currently unfashionable fictionalism espoused by Vaihinger (1935).

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Michael-John Turp
University of Canterbury

Citations of this work

Modal fictionalism.Daniel Nolan - 2008 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

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On Denoting.Bertrand Russell - 1905 - Mind 14 (56):479-493.
On the Plurality of Worlds.David Lewis - 1986 - Revue Philosophique de la France Et de l'Etranger 178 (3):388-390.
On Denoting.Bertrand Russell - 2005 - Mind 114 (456):873 - 887.
Nonexistent Objects.Terence Parsons - 1980 - Yale University Press.

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