Epistemic Modals in Context 论文

摘要

Abstract In the 1970s David Lewis argued for a contextualist treatment of modals (Lewis, 1976, 1979a). Although Lewis was primarily interested in modals connected with freedom and metaphysical possibility, his arguments for contextualism could easily be taken to support contextualism about epistemic modals. In the 1990s Keith DeRose argued for just that position (DeRose, 1991, 1998). In all contextualist treatments, the method by which the contextual variables get their values is not completely specified. For contextualise treatments of metaphysical modality, the important value is the class of salient worlds. For contextualist treatments of epistemic modality, the important value is which epistemic agents are salient.