Title: Counterpart Theory and The Problems of Advanced Modalizing
By Cansu Yüksel (KCL/ METU, Philosophy)
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2025
Time: 1530-1700
Room: H-232
Abstract: Counterpart Theory provides a translation that converts every sentence of quantified modal logic into a sentence of a non-modal first-order language. While theoretically fruitful – given its puzzle-solving strength in metaphysics and its formal flexibility in logic – the theory faces challenges with advanced modalizing, where claims about spatiotemporally disunified entities are modalized. I begin by outlining a family of problems identified in recent literature. I then examine a promising strategy to bypass these problems, treating cases of advanced modalizing as instances of equivocation that fall outside the scope of the translation. However, this strategy does not satisfactorily extend to advanced modal claims involving abstract entities. Moreover, the indispensability of advanced modal claims made by Lewis himself shows that the equivocation response is ultimately limited, and that a proper account of advanced modalizing is required. I conclude by sketching one such alternative approach.
About the speaker: Cansu Yüksel received her PhD from King’s College London and is currently a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer at Middle East Technical University. Her research lies at the intersection of metaphysics, philosophy of language, and logic, with a particular focus on modality. She is especially interested in the nature of modal truth – what makes a modal claim true, and what kinds of truthmakers can account for its truth. Dr. Yüksel’s recent publications include ‘Neo-Conventionalist Accounts of Necessity’ (2024) in Philosophy Compass and ‘On the Function of Advanced Modalizing’ (2024) in the Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society.
Organized by the Department of Philosophy
