Abstract

A counterpossible conditional is a counterfactual with an impossible antecedent. Common sense delivers the view that some such conditionals are true, and some are false. In recent publications, Timothy Williamson has defended the view that all are true. In this paper we defend the common sense view against Williamson’s objections.

Highlights

  • A counterpossible conditional is a counterfactual conditional with an impossible antecedent

  • All the arguments we consider here are compatible with the existence of these intuitions. 6Counterfactual conditionals are hardly the only place where impossible worlds come in handy

  • Might be a consequence relation different from the target. These principles would be satisfied on the kind of approach we have presented if the impossible worlds themselves are forced to obey the logic

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Summary

Introduction

A counterpossible conditional is a counterfactual conditional with an impossible antecedent. According to some theorists, who we will call vacuists, all counterpossibles are true. According to others, who we will call nonvacuists, some counterpossibles are true, and some are false..

The Consensus
Why Nonvacuism?
How Nonvacuism?
Objections to Nonvacuism
Weak Logic
Substitution of Identicals
Reductio Arguments
Questioning Nonvacuist Intuitions
Thinking it Through
A Heuristic?
Vacuous Quantification
Counterfactual Paths to Necessity
Supposing the Impossible
Conclusion

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