University of Michigan

Fall 2012 Workshop in Philosophy and Linguistics


 
 
May, Might and If
Robert Stalnaker

Abstract

The plan of this paper is to juxtapose three theoretical problems in semantics/pragmatics, all concerning the relation between semantic content and speech act force as it arises with respect to one kind of expression. The first is a problem about permission that David Lewis raised; the second is the problem of epistemic modals that has come in for so much discussion in the recent literature in semantics and the philosophy of language. The third is the debate about indicative conditionals: whether they express propositions, and how they relate to the so-called subjunctive conditionals. The hope is that each project throws some light on the others.