Metaphysics and Epistemology Group (Tuesday - Week 2, HT23)

Famously, David Lewis developed a counterpart-theoretic treatment of de re modality. Throughout his work, Lewis used counterpart theory to solve various puzzles in metaphysics, especially in the metaphysics of material objects. I shall explore whether an alternative treatment of de re modality can accommodate key benefits of the counterpart-theoretic approach whilst avoiding its drawbacks. This alternative treatment is situated within the context of primitivism about modality, and it draws on various resources from higher-order metaphysics.