Skip to main content
Log in

A Defense of the Kripkean Account of Logical Truth in First-Order Modal Logic

  • Published:
Journal of Philosophical Logic Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper responds to criticism of the Kripkean account of logical truth in first-order modal logic. The criticism, largely ignored in the literature, claims that when the box and diamond are interpreted as the logical modality operators, the Kripkean account is extensionally incorrect because it fails to reflect the fact that all sentences stating truths about what is logically possible are themselves logically necessary. I defend the Kripkean account by arguing that some true sentences about logical possibility are not logically necessary.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Almog, J. (1989) Logic and the world, in Almog, Perry and Wettstein (eds.) Themes From Kaplan, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 43–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bach, K. (2000) Quantification, qualification, and context: A reply to Stanley and Szabo, Mind & Language 15, 262–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burgess, J. (1999) Which modal logic is the right one?, Notre Dame J. Formal Logic 40, 81–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cocchiarella, N. (1975a) On the primary and secondary semantics of logical necessity, J. Philos. Logic 4, 13–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cocchiarella, N. (1975b) Logical atomism, nominalism, and modal logic, Synthese 31, 23–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Field, H. (1989) Is mathematical knowledge just logical knowledge?, in Realism, Realism, Mathematics and Modality, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 79–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Field, H. (1991) Metalogic and modality, Philos. Stud. 62, 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fine, K. (1994) Essence and modality, Philosophical Perspectives 8, 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fine, K. (2002) The varieties of necessity, in Gendler and Hawthorne (2002), pp. 253–281.

  • Gendler, T. and Hawthorne, J. (2002) Conceivability and Possibility, Clarendon Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haldane, J. and Scruton, R. (eds.) (1990) Logical Necessity and Other Essays, Blackwell, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hale, B. (1996) Absolute necessities, Philosophical Perspectives 10, 93–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, W. (1997) The concept of logical consequence, The Philosophical Review 106, 365–409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, W. (2002) The formal-structural view of logical consequence: A reply to Gila Sher, The Philosophical Review 111, 243–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, W. and Hawthorne, J. (1985) Validity in intensional languages: A new approach, Notre Dame J. Formal Logic 1, 9–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazen, A. P. (1999) Logic and analyticity, in Varzi (ed.), European Review of Philosophy: The Nature of Logic, Vol. 4, CSLI Publications, Stanford, pp. 79–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hintikka, J. (1980) Standard vs. nonstandard logic: Higher-order, modal, and first-order logics, in Agazzi (ed.), Modern Logic – A Survey, D. Reidel, Dordrecht, pp. 283–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hintikka, J. (1982) Is alethic modal logic possible?, Acta Philosophica Fennica 35, 89–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hintikka, J. and Sandu, G. (1995) The fallacies of the new theory of reference, Synthese 104, 245–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodges, W. (1986) Truth in a structure, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 86, 135–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kripke, S. (1959) A completeness theorem in modal logic, J. Symbolic Logic 24, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindström, S. (1998) Kanger’s early semantics for modal logic, in Humphreys and Fetzer (eds.), The New Theory of Reference, Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 203–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • McFetridge, I. G. (1990) Logical necessity: Some issues, in Haldane and Scruton (1990), pp. 135–154.

  • Neal, S. (1990) Descriptions, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, C. (1986) Quine on the philosophy of mathematics, in L. E. Hahn and P. A. Schilpp (eds.), The Philosophy of W. V. Quine, La Salle, Illinois, pp. 369–395.

  • Pollock, J. (1966) Model theory and modal logic, Logique et Anal. 9, 313–317.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shalkowski, S. (2004) Logic and absolute necessity, J. Philos. 101, 55–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, S. (1993) Modality and ontology, Mind 102, 455–481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanley, S. and Szabo, Z. (2000) On quantifier domain restrictions, Mind & Language 15, 219–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, T. (1999) Existence and contingency, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 73(supplement), 181–203.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. McKeon.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

McKeon, M. A Defense of the Kripkean Account of Logical Truth in First-Order Modal Logic. J Philos Logic 34, 305–326 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10992-005-2273-5

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10992-005-2273-5

Keywords

Navigation