Bounds for metaphysical modality

Abstract

Epistemic modals exhibit a kind of nonclassical behavior, exemplified by epistemic contradictions like (1). Conversely, metaphysical modals seemingly conform to the predictions of semantics based on classical modal logics, as witnessed by the consistency of (2). (1) # Al is tall and he might not be. (2) Al is tall and he might not have been. I argue that this difference is illusory. Metaphysical modals display nonclassical behavior mirroring that of epistemics. This nonclassicality is manifested in puzzles concerning the interaction of would and might. I show how these facts be captured, while still preserving the contrast between (1) and (2), building on Mandelkern’s recent work on bounds.