PHIL315 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Positive Mental Attitude
7 May 2018
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Ersatzism, cont.
❖ Linguistic: possible languages problems
o Linguistic ersatzism out runs the possible worlds
o Our modal talks distinguishes things that linguistic ersatzism cannot
o Only consistent sets of propositions represent the actual world
o We run out of language before we run out of worlds to describe them
o We’d ru out of orlds efore e ru out of laguage
o There are’t eough resoures, or too a… sets of iosistet propositios
that have to some how be ruled out… ou’d hae to go priitive on modality
because of the inconsistency
❖ Magical = Giving details/explanation = prole; it just is the case; appeal to primitive
nature of modality
❖ Linguistic & pictorial = If it is in virtue of the structure of the representation to correctly
represent the actual world, then the representation relation is an internal relation;
intrinsic structural properties… eaie the strutures to ko if it trul represets the
world. Look @ internal/intrinsic features
❖ If the magical version is right, how will we ever know if it maps onto the actual world? If
the just do represet i the right a, the preious oplaits do’t hold. But ho
ould ou eer ko that a partiular eleet trul or does’t trul represets the
orld if it just does
o There ca’t e athig etrisi, eause there is’t athig else aroud. It has
to be intrinsic features of the element that can map onto the world
o Ho do ou ko? Just agi; ou just hae a odal sese that relial
detects the representation relation, by it just does. There is no way, no structure
in virtue of it happening, it just does
Modal factionalism
❖ Euthafrow – an act is right if and only if God approves of it. By approval, your positive
mental attitude (neither = neutral, negative = not approved)
❖ Socrates asks Euthafrow, but what makes a right act, right? He agrees with bullet point
1, but given that it is true, is a right act right because God approves of it? Or does God
approve of a right act, because it is right?
❖ What is the fudaetal thig? Is it God’s approal? Or are they two diff properties?
❖ Euthafro sas God approes of a right at, eause it is right. But he has’t
answered the original question, of what makes a right act right?
❖ Modal factionalist account has a Euthafrow problem
o possile P is true, just i ase possile P is true aordig to O the Pluralit of
Worlds, Daid Leis – but is the equivalence the case that it is possible
because it is possible according to On the Pluarlity of Words? Or is it possible
according to the plurality of worlds because it is possible implicitly. Modal
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Magical = giving details/explanation = pro(cid:271)le(cid:373); it (cid:862)just is(cid:863) the case; appeal to primitive nature of modality. If the(cid:455) (cid:862)just do(cid:863) represe(cid:374)t i(cid:374) the right (cid:449)a(cid:455), the pre(cid:448)ious (cid:272)o(cid:373)plai(cid:374)ts do(cid:374)"t hold. Just (cid:271)(cid:455) (cid:862)(cid:373)agi(cid:272)(cid:863); (cid:455)ou just ha(cid:448)e a (cid:862)(cid:373)odal se(cid:374)se(cid:863) that relia(cid:271)l(cid:455) detects the representation relation, by it just does. There is no way, no structure in virtue of it happening, it just does. Euthafrow an act is right if and only if god approves of it. By approval, your positive mental attitude (neither = neutral, negative = not approved) Euthafro(cid:449) sa(cid:455)s god appro(cid:448)es of a right a(cid:272)t, (cid:271)e(cid:272)ause it is right. Modal factionalist account has a euthafrow problem: (cid:862)possi(cid:271)le p is true, just i(cid:374) (cid:272)ase possi(cid:271)le p is true a(cid:272)(cid:272)ordi(cid:374)g to o(cid:374) the pluralit(cid:455) of. Or is it possible according to the plurality of worlds because it is possible implicitly.
