Context of Modality
The number of discovered chemical elements is 117. Take the sentence "The number of chemical elements is necessarily greater than 100". Again, there are two interpretations as per the de dicto / de re distinction. The first interpretation is that things could not have gone differently, with the number of elements fewer than 100. If the inner workings of the atom could differ, there could be fewer than 100 elements. The second interpretation is that things could not have gone differently with the number 117 turning out to be fewer than 100. Intuitively, this claim is true. Of all the ways the world could have turned out, presumably there are no possibilities wherein 117 is fewer than 100. That 117 is greater than 100 is a necessary fact. The first interpretation, which seems to yield a false statement, is the de dicto interpretation. The second interpretation, which seems to yield a true statement, is the de re interpretation.
Another example: "The President of the USA in 2001 could not have been Al Gore". This claim seems false on a de dicto reading. Presumably, things could have gone differently, with the Supreme Court not claiming that Bush had won the election. But it looks more plausible on a de re reading. After all, we might skeptically wonder of George W. Bush whether he could have been Al Gore. Indeed, assuming that being George Bush is an essential feature of George Bush and that this feature is incompatible with being Al Gore, a de re reading of the statement is true.
Read more about this topic: De Dicto And de Re
Famous quotes containing the words context of and/or context:
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