Reading Group on Modality
Modality: Thursdays at 12:30-14:00 hrs every two weeks, in person.
Location: Seminar Room 509 (Metaphysics), Faculty of Philosophy and Education Sciences.
Start date: 24 september, 2026.
Contact: Pablo Rychter (pablo.rychter@uv.es) and Javier Ferrer-Claramonte (javier.ferrer-claramonte@uv.es).
The group will focus on metaphysical modality, including its definition and its relation to notions such as absolute, logical, and nomological modality. It will also address the relation between essence and modality, as well as questions concerning essentialism.
Provisional Reading List
(This is a tentative list of papers, and the selection and order of discussion may change as the seminar progresses.)
Bacon, A. (2018). The Broadest Necessity. Journal of Philosophical Logic, 47(5), 733–783.
Clarke-Doane, J. (2021). Metaphysical and absolute possibility. Synthese, 198(S8), 1861–1872.
Correia, F., & Skiles, A. (2022). Essence, Modality, and Identity. Mind, 131(524), 1279–1302.
Leech, J. (2021). From Essence to Necessity via Identity. Mind, 130(519), 887–908.
Mallozzi, A. (2021). Two notions of metaphysical modality. Synthese, 198(S6), 1387–1408.
Roberts, A. (2022). From Physical to Metaphysical Necessity. Mind, 131(524), 1216–1246.
Romero, C. (2019). Modality Is Not Explainable by Essence. The Philosophical Quarterly (1950-), 69(274), 121–141.
Vetter, B. (n.d.). What do we talk about when we talk about metaphysical modality? A case study in conceptual systematicity.
Wallner, M., & Vaidya, A. (2020). Essence, Explanation, and Modality. Philosophy, 95(4), 419–445.
Wildman, N. (2021). Against the reduction of modality to essence. Synthese, 198(6), 1455–1471.