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Structuralism and the New Way of Worlds: A Sellarsian Argument for Necessitarianism about Laws

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Zanja Yudell
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Abstract

This article presents and argues for modal structuralism, which is loosely derived from a position described by Wilfrid Sellars. Modal structuralism holds that a fundamental property is identified by the role it plays in the structure of possibilities. It implies necessitarianism about laws, which holds that at least some laws of nature are metaphysically necessary. The argument for these positions derives from the following assumptions: the principle of the identity of indiscernible properties and a modest antiquidditism. These assumptions are weaker than those of causal structuralism, which is a closely related view.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 78 , Issue 4 , October 2011 , pp. 678 - 695
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

I would like to thank Andrea Borghini, Joe Hwang, Neil Williams, and some anonymous referees for providing comments on this article.

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