Modal rationalism and the transference of meaning
Trafford, James (2010) Modal rationalism and the transference of meaning. Croation Journal of Philosophy, X (29). pp. 97-107. ISSN 1333-1108
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This peer-reviewed paper deals with some of the technical apparatus involved in theories of meaning and imagination. I analyse a key element of the dominant approach to modal imagination as advanced by David Chalmers. I argue that the technical apparatus that Chalmers employs cannot do the work he requires in his theory of a priori knowledge. As such, the paper has an impact on the way in which we set up and conceive of the idea of meaning and our ability to imagine counterfactually.
The research makes a contribution to the debates relating to modal imagination and overly rationalist approaches to conception. It formulates and addresses a weakness in the modal rationalist position and suggests a way through it that deals with complaints against the rationalist approach.
The paper has been presented at a number of different conferences in slightly modified forms, and the discussion in these contexts has aided the development and final revisions of the article. Of particular note is that fact that the paper has played a key role in debates at international conferences at the University of Warwick and Stockholm University.
Edited by Nenad Miščević
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