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Single Idea 19503

[filed under theme 10. Modality / B. Possibility / 9. Counterfactuals ]

Full Idea

Low probability events such as lottery wins can occur in nearby possible worlds.

Gist of Idea

An improbable lottery win can occur in a nearby possible world

Source

Duncan Pritchard (Epistemological Disjunctivism [2012], 2.n2)

Book Ref

Pritchard,Duncan: 'Epistemological Disjunctivism' [OUP 2012], p.101


A Reaction

This seems to ruin any chance of mapping probabilities and counterfactuals in the neat model of nested possible worlds (like an onion). [Lewis must have thought of this, surely? - postcards, please]

Related Idea

Idea 6368 If my ticket won't win the lottery (and it won't), no other tickets will either [Kyburg, by Pollock/Cruz]


The 13 ideas from Duncan Pritchard

Disjunctivism says perceptual justification must be both factual and known by the agent [Pritchard,D]
Epistemic externalism struggles to capture the idea of epistemic responsibility [Pritchard,D]
Metaphysical disjunctivism says normal perceptions and hallucinations are different experiences [Pritchard,D]
Epistemic internalism usually says justification must be accessible by reflection [Pritchard,D]
We can have evidence for seeing a zebra, but no evidence for what is entailed by that [Pritchard,D]
Favouring: an entailment will give better support for the first belief than reason to deny the second [Pritchard,D]
We assess error against background knowledge, but that is just what radical scepticism challenges [Pritchard,D]
Maybe knowledge just needs relevant discriminations among contrasting cases [Pritchard,D]
An improbable lottery win can occur in a nearby possible world [Pritchard,D]
Moore begs the question, or just offers another view, or uses 'know' wrongly [Pritchard,D, by PG]
My modus ponens might be your modus tollens [Pritchard,D]
Externalism is better than internalism in dealing with radical scepticism [Pritchard,D]
Radical scepticism is merely raised, and is not a response to worrying evidence [Pritchard,D]