{"title":"On Plantinga’s Way Out","authors":"Lifeng Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s10516-024-09717-2","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The conception of possible worlds, as proposed by Plantinga, presents certain issues, notably its dependence on the prior concept of modality. While Plantinga’s strategy for addressing the enigma of transworld identity carries metaphysical significance, it lacks epistemological value. This deficiency emerges because world-indexed properties do not serve as effective tools in epistemic practice compared to their counterparts, space–time-indexed properties. Moreover, Plantinga’s attempt to isolate transworld identification from transworld identity proves unconvincing. This paper contends that the intelligibility of modal discourse and reference forms the crux of transworld identity. It further demonstrates that transworld identification underpins this intelligibility in an epistemological sense. Therefore, the problem of transworld identification is epistemologically foundational to the issue of transworld identity, necessitating a comprehensive solution.</p>","PeriodicalId":44799,"journal":{"name":"Axiomathes","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Axiomathes","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10516-024-09717-2","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"PHILOSOPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The conception of possible worlds, as proposed by Plantinga, presents certain issues, notably its dependence on the prior concept of modality. While Plantinga’s strategy for addressing the enigma of transworld identity carries metaphysical significance, it lacks epistemological value. This deficiency emerges because world-indexed properties do not serve as effective tools in epistemic practice compared to their counterparts, space–time-indexed properties. Moreover, Plantinga’s attempt to isolate transworld identification from transworld identity proves unconvincing. This paper contends that the intelligibility of modal discourse and reference forms the crux of transworld identity. It further demonstrates that transworld identification underpins this intelligibility in an epistemological sense. Therefore, the problem of transworld identification is epistemologically foundational to the issue of transworld identity, necessitating a comprehensive solution.
期刊介绍:
Axiomathes: Where Science Meets PhilosophyResearch in many fields confirms that science is changing its nature. Natural science, cognitive and social sciences, mathematics and philosophy (i.e., the set of tools developed to understand and model reality) exceed the conceptual framework introduced by Galileo and Descartes. Complexity and chaos; network dynamics; anticipatory systems; qualitative aspects of experience (intentionality, for example); emergent properties and objects; forward, upward, and downward causation: all portend a new scientific agenda.Axiomathes publishes studies of evolving ideas, perspectives, and methods in science, mathematics, and philosophy. Many aspects of this dawning are unknown: there will be startlingly good ideas, and many blind-alleys. We welcome this ferment. While Axiomathes’ scope is left open, scholarly depth, quality and precision of presentation remain prerequisites for publication.Axiomathes welcomes submissions, regardless of the tradition, school of thought, or disciplinary background from which they derive. The members of the journal’s editorial board reflect this approach in the diversity of their affiliations and interests. Axiomathes includes one issue per year under the title Epistemologia. Please see the tab on your right for more information about this joint publication.All submissions are subjected to double-blind peer review, the average peer review time is 3 months.Axiomathes publishes:· Research articles, presenting original ideas and results.· Review articles, which comprehensively synthesize and critically assess recent, original works or a selected collection of thematically related books.· Commentaries, brief articles that comment on articles published previously.· Book symposia, in which commentators are invited to debate an influential book with the author, who answers with a concluding reply.· Special issues, in which an expert collaborates with the journal as a guest editor, in order to identify an interesting topic in science, mathematics or philosophy, and interacts with the selected contributors, being in charge of a whole issue of the journal. Axiomathes invites potential guest-editors, who might be interested in collecting and editing such special issue, to contact the Editor in order to discuss the feasibility of the project.· Focused debates, collecting submissions and invited articles around a particular theme, as part of a normal issue of the journal.· Authors wishing to submit a reply article, or a proposal for a review article, a book symposium, a special issue or a focused debate, are invited to contact the Editor for further information.