Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Category: Modal Matters

  • Ayn Rand on Necessity, Contingency, and Dispositions

    Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, 2nd ed., p. 299, Rand speaking: What do you mean by "necessity"? By "necessity," we mean that things are a certain way and had to be.  I would maintain that the statement "Things are," when referring to non-man-made occurrences, is the synonym of "They had to be."  Because unless we start…

  • Modal Confusion in Rand/Peikoff

    Comments are on.  If you have something intelligent and civil to contribute, please do.  But I have zero tolerance for cyberpunks.  If you fail to address what I actually say, or thoughtlessly spout the Rand party line, or show the least bit of disrespect to me or my commenters, then I will delete your comment.…