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Single Idea 15028

[filed under theme 10. Modality / C. Sources of Modality / 3. Necessity by Convention ]

Full Idea

Conventionalism is apparently inapplicable to Kripke's and Putnam's examples of the necessary a posteriori (and, relatedly, to de re modality).

Gist of Idea

Conventionalism doesn't seem to apply to examples of the necessary a posteriori

Source

Theodore Sider (Writing the Book of the World [2011], 12.1)

Book Ref

Sider,Theodore: 'Writing the Book of the World' [OUP 2011], p.268


A Reaction

[Sidelle 1989 discusses this]


The 11 ideas with the same theme [necessity comes from linguistic conventions]:

For each necessity in the world there is an arbitrary rule of language [Wittgenstein]
If natural necessity is used to include or exclude some predicate, the predicate is conceptually necessary [Harré/Madden]
Having a child is contingent for a 'man', necessary for a 'father'; the latter reflects a necessity of nature [Harré/Madden]
A key achievement of Kripke is showing that important modalities are not linguistic in source [Soames]
If necessity rests on linguistic conventions, those are contingent, so there is no necessity [Hale]
If truths are necessary 'by convention', that seems to make them contingent [Sider]
Conventionalism doesn't seem to apply to examples of the necessary a posteriori [Sider]
Necessary a posteriori is conventional for necessity and nonmodal for a posteriority [Sidelle, by Sider]
To know empirical necessities, we need empirical facts, plus conventions about which are necessary [Sidelle]
Conventions can only work if they are based on something non-conventional [Fogelin]
Modal Conventionalism says modality is analytic, not intrinsic to the world, and linguistic [Thomasson]