Single Idea 16284

[catalogued under 10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 2. Nature of Possible Worlds / a. Nature of possible worlds]

Full Idea

I distinguish three principal ways ersatz worlds represent: linguistic, in which they are like stories or theories; pictorial, like pictures or isomorphic scale models; or magical, in which it is just their nature to represent.

Gist of Idea

Ersatz worlds represent either through language, or by models, or magically

Source

David Lewis (On the Plurality of Worlds [1986], 3.1)

Book Reference

Lewis,David: 'On the Plurality of Worlds' [Blackwell 2001], p.141


A Reaction

I think I incline to the 'model' view. The linguistic version means animals can't assess possibilities. I take modelling to be basic to what a mind is, and what a mind is for.

Related Idea

Idea 16282 Ersatzers say we have one world, and abstract representations of how it might have been [Lewis]