_Modality: A History_ provides readers a sweeping study of the history
of philosophical work on modal concepts. Everyday discourse is
saturated with appeals to what _might_ be the case or to what _must_
be true or to what _cannot_ happen. Possibility, necessity, and
impossibility are _modal_ terms, and philosophers have long wondered
how to best understand them. This volume traces the history of some of
the most prominent and important contributions to our understanding of
possibility and necessity over the past two and half millennia of
western philosophy, from ancient Greek philosophers through current
debates in the 21st century. Over the course of nine chapters from
prominent scholars, this volume traces a history of modal theorizing
that begins with extended discussions of Aristotle and the Stoics.
Several chapters discuss insights and disagreements among Latin,
Arabic, and Jewish medieval scholastics, such as Al-Ghaz?l?, Scotus,
and Crescas. Three chapters center on early modern philosophers, whose
modal views were deeply shaped by this conceptual inheritance but also
departed from it in significant ways: Descartes, Malebranche, Locke,
Spinoza, Leibniz, and Hume. Kant and Hegel's modal contributions are
presented in their own chapter, and another chapter traces the legacy
of Kant's account on early-to-mid 20th century modal views, including
Husserl, Heidegger, Russell, and Quine. The revival of modal
metaphysics in the more recent work of Kripke, Marcus, and Lewis has
led to a new flourishing of modal theories, including in recent
debates among neo-Aristotelians, as the final chapter illustrates.
Although modal concepts are interesting and important on their own,
theories of modality often intersect with other significant
philosophical topics, such as time, freedom, and God. Modal concepts
also extend beyond metaphysics. To illustrate the role of modality in
other domains, several small-scale studies, or _Reflections_, are
dispersed among these main chapters on modality in cosmology,
religion, music, literature, and logic. Readers will learn how a
seemingly timeless and changeless cluster of modal concepts have
undergone significant revisions and enjoy a rich developmental
history.
Les mer
A History
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780190089870
Publisert
2023
Utgiver
Oxford University Press Academic US
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter