Title: Counterpart Theory and The Problems of Advanced Modalizing by Cansu Y\u00fcksel (King\u2019s College London\/ METU)<\/p>\n
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2025
\nTime: 1530-1700
\nRoom: Humanities Seminar Room (H-232)<\/p>\n
Abstract: Counterpart Theory provides a translation that converts every sentence of quantified modal logic into a sentence of a non-modal first-order language. While theoretically fruitful \u2013 given its puzzle-solving strength in metaphysics and its formal flexibility in logic \u2013 the theory faces challenges with advanced modalizing, where claims about spatiotemporally disunified entities are modalized. I begin by outlining a family of problems identified in recent literature. I then examine a promising strategy to bypass these problems, treating cases of advanced modalizing as instances of equivocation that fall outside the scope of the translation. However, this strategy does not satisfactorily extend to advanced modal claims involving abstract entities. Moreover, the indispensability of advanced modal claims made by Lewis himself shows that the equivocation response is ultimately limited, and that a proper account of advanced modalizing is required. I conclude by sketching one such alternative approach.<\/p>\n
About the speaker: Cansu Y\u00fcksel received her PhD from King\u2019s College London and is currently a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer at Middle East Technical University. Her research lies at the intersection of metaphysics, philosophy of language, and logic, with a particular focus on modality. She is especially interested in the nature of modal truth \u2013 what makes a modal claim true, and what kinds of truthmakers can account for its truth. Dr. Y\u00fcksel\u2019s recent publications include \u2018Neo-Conventionalist Accounts of Necessity\u2019 (2024) in Philosophy Compass and \u2018On the Function of Advanced Modalizing\u2019 (2024) in the Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society.<\/p>\n
Organized by the Department of Philosophy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Title: Counterpart Theory and The Problems of Advanced Modalizing by Cansu Y\u00fcksel (King\u2019s College London\/ METU) Date: Thursday, December 18, 2025 Time: 1530-1700 Room: Humanities Seminar Room (H-232) Abstract: Counterpart Theory provides a translation that converts every sentence of quantified modal logic into a sentence of a non-modal first-order language. [\u2026] <\/p>\n