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Oct 18, 2013 · The idea of possible worlds is evocative and appealing. However, possible worlds failed to gain any real traction among philosophers until the 1960s when they were invoked to provide the conceptual underpinnings of some powerful developments in modal logic.
A possible world is a complete and consistent way the world is or could have been. Learn how possible worlds are used in logic, philosophy, and linguistics, and what are the metaphysical and ontological issues surrounding them.
Learn about the concept of a possible world, a total way the universe might have been, and how it is used in logic, philosophy, and ontology. Explore the formal systems of modal logic, the best of all possible worlds, and the problem of evil.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Feb 29, 2000 · In propositional logic, a valuation of the atomic sentences (or row of a truth table) assigns a truth value \ ( (T\) or \ (F)\) to each propositional variable \ (p\). Then the truth values of the complex sentences are calculated with truth tables. In modal semantics, a set \ (W\) of possible worlds is introduced.
An overview of the metaphysical underpinning of modal statements, such as what is possible or necessary. Explores five views of possible worlds: Meinong's Realism, Lewis' Realism, Ersatzism, Fictionalism, and Armstrong's hybrid.
Notes to Possible Worlds. 1. For important applications of possible worlds, see the SEP entries on supervenience, rigid designators, two-dimensional semantics, conditionals, the logic of belief revision, common knowledge, and belief. A particularly illustrative possible worlds analysis of the concept of prudence is found in Bricker 1980. 2.
Definition. A possible world is a complete way things might be. Possible worlds are alternative worlds one of which is the actual world. Philosophers use the notion of a possible world to define and discuss ideas such as possibility or necessity.
