Preface ............................................................. xi Acknowledgements .................................................... xv Part I: Introduction ........................................ 1 1 Where possible-world talk is used .............................. 3 (1.1) Modalities ..................................................... 3 (1.2) Intensions ..................................................... 9 (1.3) Relations over intensions ..................................... 10 2 What possible-world talk means ................................ 15 (2.1) Possible-world discourse (PW) ................................. 15 (2.2) Interpretations of PW ......................................... 16 (2.3) Applications of PW ............................................ 18 (2.4) Abstentionism, realism and antirealism ........................ 19 (2.5) Realisms ...................................................... 21 (2.6) Antirealisms .................................................. 22 3 Why possible-world talk is used ............................... 26 (3.1) Conceptual applications of PW ................................. 26 (3.2) Ontological applications of PW ................................ 32 (3.3) Semantic applications of PW ................................... 34 (3.4) A Sketch of a Kripkean PW-semantics for QML ................... 36 (3.5) Other applications of PW ...................................... 39 Part II: Genuine realism .................................. 41 4 Genuine realism: exposition and applications .................. 43 (4.1) Interpretation ................................................ 43 (4.2) Ontology and primitive concepts ............................... 45 (4.3) Conceptual applications ....................................... 47 (4.4) Ontological applications ...................................... 51 (4.5) Semantic applications ......................................... 57 (4.6) Justification ................................................. 57 5 Genuine realism: quantification over non-actuals .............. 59 (5.1) Non-existent entities ......................................... 59 (5.2) Analytic actualism ............................................ 62 (5.3) Genuine worlds are not proper individuals ..................... 65 (5.4) From possibilia to impossibilia ............................... 67 (5.5) The incalculable costs of impossibilia ........................ 76 (5.6) The impossibility of singular reference to non-actual individuals ........................................................ 77 6 Genuine realism: worlds ....................................... 86 (6.1) Non-individuals ............................................... 87 (6.2) Disconnected times ............................................ 90 (6.3) Temporally disconnected dual existences ....................... 91 (6.4) Island universes .............................................. 93 (6.5) Non-actual spatiotemporal relations ........................... 99 (6.6) Recombination ................................................ 100 (6.7) Unworldly genuine realism .................................... 103 7 Genuine realism: unanalysed modality ......................... 106 (7.1) Accurate analysis ............................................ 106 (7.2) Conceptually modal analysis .................................. 108 (7.3) Doxastically modal analysis .................................. 110 (7.4) Ontologically modal analysis ................................. 112 (7.5) The infinitude of alien properties ........................... 114 (7.6) From infinitude to incompleteness ............................ 117 8 Genuine realism: counterparts ................................ 122 (8.1) Irrelevance .................................................. 124 (8.2) Concern ...................................................... 133 (8.3) Intuitions of truth and validity ............................. 139 (8.4) The consequences of deregulation ............................. 144 9 Genuine realism: epistemology ................................ 149 (9.1) The utilitarian case for GR knowledge ........................ 151 (9.2) Utility as warrant in ontology ............................... 155 (9.3) Obstacles to a prioricity .................................... 158 (9.4) Scepticism about epistemological objections to GR ............ 164 Part III: Actualist realism ............................ 167 10 Actualist realism: exposition ................................ 169 (10.1) Plantingan realism (PR) ..................................... 173 (10.2) Combinatorial realism (CR) .................................. 174 (10.3) Nature realism (NR) ......................................... 177 (10.4) Book realism (BR) ........................................... 178 11 Actualist realism: conceptual applications .................. 181 (11.1) BR and primitive modal concepts ............................. 182 (11.2) CR and primitive modal concepts ............................. 189 (11.3) NR and primitive modal concepts ............................. 191 12 Actualist realism: ontological applications ................. 196 (12.1) Ontological identification .................................. 196 (12.2) Truthmaking ................................................. 201 13 Actualist realism: semantic applications .................... 210 (13.1) The D-problem ............................................... 211 (13.2) D as the actual individuals ................................. 213 (13.3) D as the actual singular terms .............................. 216 (13.4) D as the individual essences ................................ 219 (13.5) The V-problem and its existentialist solution ............... 223 14 Actualist realism: safe and sane ontology? .................. 227 (14.1) The actual world ............................................ 228 (14.2) Abstractness ................................................ 229 (14.3) Unrealized existence ........................................ 231 (14.4) Criteria of identity ........................................ 232 (14.5) Properties .................................................. 237 (14.6) States of affairs ........................................... 239 15 Actualist realism: paradox .................................. 243 (15.1) PW-paradoxes ................................................ 243 (15.2) Kaplan paradoxes ............................................ 245 (15.3) PW-paradox and the species of AR ............................ 246 (15.4) Restriction solutions ....................................... 249 (15.5) Proper class solutions ...................................... 251 (15.6) Non-maximality solutions .................................... 252 16 Actualist realism: transworld identity and transworld identification .............................................. 257 (16.1) Distinguishing transworld identity theses ................... 258 (16.2) The discernibility argument against transworld identity ..... 261 (16.3) The Adam-Noah example ....................................... 263 (16.4) GR, haecceitism and non-trivial essentialism ................ 265 (16.5) AR, haecceitism and non-trivial essentialism ................ 268 (16.6) The transworld identification problem ....................... 270 (16.7) Semantic stipulation and modal epistemology ................. 272 17 Actualist realism: representation ........................... 275 (17.1) Misrepresentation by linguistic AR .......................... 275 (17.2) Linguistic AR revitalized ................................... 278 (17.3) Misrepresentation by GR ..................................... 284 (17.4) Magical representation by AR ................................ 286 (17.5) Tu quoque ................................................... 289 Part IV: Conclusion ........................................ 293 18 Summary and evaluation ...................................... 295 Notes ....................................................... 298 Extended bibliography ....................................... 361 Index ....................................................... 373