Combining Philosophers

Ideas for H.Putnam/P.Oppenheim, J.G. Hamann and David Wiggins

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2 ideas

10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 1. Possible Worlds / d. Possible worlds actualism
Possible worlds rest on the objects about which we have suppositions [Wiggins]
     Full Idea: Worlds are the shadows of our suppositions and they take on their identity from these. Suppositions take on their identity from (inter alia) the objects they relate to. If they sever themselves from these objects, then they collapse.
     From: David Wiggins (Sameness and Substance Renewed [2001], 4.11)
     A reaction: Sounds good. My picture is of possibilities which are suggested by objecfs in the actual world, with extreme possibilities being at fifth-remove from actuality. Any worlds that go beyond natural possibility are just there for fun.
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 2. Nature of Possible Worlds / b. Worlds as fictions
Not every story corresponds to a possible world [Wiggins]
     Full Idea: It is perfectly notorious that not every story corresponds to a possible world.
     From: David Wiggins (Sameness and Substance Renewed [2001], 2.4)
     A reaction: Thus a fantasy castle might be decorated with 'beautiful circular squares', or be threatened by a lump of enriched uranium twenty feet in diameter. Wiggins is replying to the claim that a possible world represents a 'story'.