Counterfactuals and Arbitrariness
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
The pattern of credences we are inclined to assign to counterfactuals challenges standard accounts of counterfactuals. In response to this prob- lem, the paper develops a semantics of counterfactuals in terms of the epsilon-operator. The proposed semantics stays close to the standard ac- count: the epsilon-operator substitutes the universal quantifier present in standard semantics by arbitrarily binding the open world-variable. Various applications of the suggested semantics are explored including, in particu- lar, an explanation of how the puzzling credences in counterfactuals come about.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1021-1055 |
Number of pages | 34 |
Journal | Mind |
Volume | 123 |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 84925383995 |
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ORCID | /0000-0002-9962-2074/work/142234599 |