How Skeptical Is Quine’s “Modal Skepticism”?

Abstract

Following a logistical explication of metaphysics Quine can be cast as an ideological antirealist about modality. However, it is not clear that Quine deserves to be called a modal skeptic since, I argue, he does not hold some of the extreme views about modality that are often associated with him. Moreover, while Quine’s convictions about truth make many forms of antirealism unacceptable to him, he might be construed as a nonskeptical modal quasirealist (à la Blackburn). I suggest further that the application of this paradigm to metaphysical necessity might proceed from the association of that concept with those explored in Quine’s “Natural Kinds.”