more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
Can combinatorial possibility deliver enough possibilities? It uses the existing elements, but there might have been one more particular or one more property. Even extended over time, the elements seem finite, yet there could have been more.
Gist of Idea
Combinatorial possibility relies on what actually exists (even over time), but there could be more
Source
Stephen Mumford (Metaphysics: a very short introduction [2012], 8)
Book Ref
Mumford,Stephen: 'Metaphysics: A Very Short Introduction' [OUP 2012], p.85
A Reaction
[compressed] One objection is that the theory allows too much, and now the objection is that it allows too little. Both objections are correct, so that's the end of that. But I admire the attempt to base modality on actuality.
| 18618 | Maybe possibilities are recombinations of the existing elements of reality [Mumford] |
| 18619 | Combinatorial possibility has to allow all elements to be combinable, which seems unlikely [Mumford] |
| 18620 | Combinatorial possibility relies on what actually exists (even over time), but there could be more [Mumford] |
| 18855 | Combinatorial theories of possibility assume the principles of combination don't change across worlds [Rosen] |