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Questions tagged [necessity]

49 questions
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Is every feature of the universe logically necessary?

Is every feature of the universe logically necessary? For example, it would be logically necessary that no material object can exceed the speed of light. In other words, there is only one way for the universe to exist, by pure logic alone. What is…
user107952
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Can empiricists and materialists accept metaphysical modality?

There are some propositions such as 1+1=2 that seem to be true in all possible worlds. That is, there is no possible world in which 1+1=2 is not true. Propositions like this that seem to be true in all possible worlds are said to be true…
David Gudeman
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Must an eternal object be uncaused?

Let's say that we grant that item "X" is eternal. By "eternal" we mean that it has always existed and that it always will exist. Because "X" is eternal, does it follow that it MUST be uncaused?
user35830
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Why shouldn’t I be a skeptic about the Necessitation Rule for alethic modal logics?

Alethic modal logics for metaphysical possibility and necessity usually have the Necessitation Rule: From ⊢P, infer ⊢□P. Doesn’t this commit us to the meta-notion that logical necessity modulo some proof calculus implies metaphysical necessity? I…
PW_246
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Is an equal outcome necessary to differentiate between equity and equality?

Based on the answer provided here, it seems to me that when the word "equity" is used in relation to "equality," an equal outcome is necessary in order to differentiate between equity and equality. Otherwise equity would just be equality. I know…
OutwardThinking
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Why is 'necessity' important in causation?

Why is 'necessity' important in cause and effect? Shouldn't experience and high probability be enough? And, how does Hume define 'necessity'? Thank you! cctabla
cctabla
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Analyticity and a priority

(1) Every bachelor is unmarried. I know this is one of the most famous examples (intensionally) denoting analytic and a priori propositions. No problems yet. (2) Every apple is a fruit. This one is a bit more confusing. At first glance, I…
Tzetachi
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Are phenomenological essences experiences that occur in every possible world?

Are phenomenological essences the case in every world? I believe they are a priori, but are they necessary and immutable? A stock example of an essence is the extension of white. We seem to experience essences, there is something it is like for…
user38026
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"I vow that this sentence be true," vs., "I vow that this sentence be true"

To try to "explain" why the liar sentence is "logically dangerous" whereas the Gödel sentence is "logically helpful," I tried out contrasting the differing "effect" that these sentences would have if "absorbed" into a Fregean One True Fact (). The…
Kristian Berry
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Having trouble understanding "not possible without" vs. "necessary for"

At face value for me these don't mean the same thing but I'm struggling to find if they are separate concepts. Are there examples where they differ? Are they or aren't they separate ideas? I can't fully articulate why (maybe coffee hasn't kicked in)…
J Kusin
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Does the Principle of Sufficient Reason imply everything is necessary?

Leibniz's Principle of Sufficient Reason (PSR) states that: for every fact F, there must be a sufficient reason why F is the case (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sufficient-reason/#WhatSuffReas). This applies to all contingent facts. For…
John Smith
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The 'Strongest Argument for Veganism': Speciesism, ethics and necessity

The Effective Altruism Foundation provides the following as the 'Strongest Argument for Veganism'. (1) We shouldn’t be cruel to animals, i.e. we shouldn’t harm animals unnecessarily. (2) The consumption of animal products harms animals. (3) The…
Futilitarian
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Constructivism and the effects of constructing definitions on morality

My friend states that 'morality is subjective' since one can construct definitions based on arbitrary intensions and extensions of a well-defined set viz. 'My own morally not bad actions' from the universal set 'U=set of acts that can be done by…
Messi Lio
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What precisely are brute contingent facts?

In my philosophical discourses typically relating to cosmological arguments, I've been astounded by brute facts, and how they relate to contingency and necessity. My reflections can be adduced by a particular comment from a post about brute…
Khasim Amedu
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What is the distinction between A-intension and C-intension?

I'm having a really hard time understanding a concept discussed in “Qualia and Analytic Conditionals” by Braddon-Mitchell and "Why We Need A-Intensions" by Jackson. Here's my extraction of these concepts: "I call the set of worlds w such that S is…
Jeremy Hadfield
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