Single Idea 16438

[catalogued under 10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 2. Necessity as Primitive]

Full Idea

My view is that if there were a nonmodal analysis of the modal concepts, that would be a sure sign that we were on the wrong track. Necessity and possibility are fundamental concepts, like truth and existence.

Gist of Idea

Necessity and possibility are fundamental, and there can be no reductive analysis of them

Source

Robert C. Stalnaker (Mere Possibilities [2012], 1.1)

Book Reference

Stalnaker,Robert C.: 'Mere Possibilities' [Princeton 2012], p.4


A Reaction

The mystery of modality is tied up with the mystery of time (which is a very big mystery indeed). You get a nice clear grip on the here and now, but time and motion whisk you away to something else. Modality concerns the something else.

Related Idea

Idea 16444 Possible worlds don't reduce modality, they regiment it to reveal its structure [Stalnaker]