New Books in Philosophy

Fabrizio Cariani, "The Modal Future: A Theory of Future-Directed Thought and Talk" (Cambridge UP, 2021)

Nov 10, 2023

Fabrizio Cariani challenges the traditional view of the word 'will' and proposes an asymmetric semantics. He explores the similarities between future-directed and counterfactual discourse, defends an extended version of Stalnaker's selectionist semantics, and examines connections to speech act theory and knowledge about the future.

01:08:31

Episode guests

Fabrizio Cariani

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Quick takeaways

The word 'will' should not be seen as a tense-based mirror image of 'was', but rather has more in common with modal terms like 'would'.

The meaning of 'will' can be explained through an extended version of Stalnaker's selectionist semantics, which selects the possible world in which the assertion is made as the world of evaluation.

Future cognition relies on mental simulation processes that are also involved in counterfactual cognition, suggesting that predictions and evaluations of future-directed statements are grounded in simulations of possible future scenarios.

Deep dives

The Modal Future challenges the traditional view of the word 'will'

The book argues that the word 'will' should not be seen as a tense-based mirror image of the word 'was', but rather has more in common with modal terms like 'would'. The author defends an asymmetric semantics, claiming that future directed discourse is closer to counterfactual discourse than past discourse.

Introduction

2min

The Modal Future: Introduction and Motivation

25min

The Meaning of 'Will' and the Misunderstanding of an Open Future

2min

Selectionist Semantics and the Concept of 'Will'

9min

The Concept of an Open Future and Indeterminacy in Language

25min

Current Research Project and Future Book

2min

Wrapping Up the Interview and Book Discussion

2min

What does “will” mean? A standard view is that it is a tensed mirror-image of “was”, and that the truth-conditions of past and future sentences – “He was late to the event”, “He will be late to the event” – are symmetric. In The Modal Future: A Theory of Future-Directed Thought and Talk (Cambridge UP, 2021), Fabrizio Cariani argues against this tense-based view in favor of an asymmetric semantics in which “will” has more in common with “would” and other modal terms, and in which future-directed discourse is close kin to counterfactual discourse, not past discourse. Cariani, who is professor of philosophy at the University of Maryland at College Park, defends an extended version of Stalnaker’s selectionist semantics to explain the semantics of “will”, and considers how his view intersects with issues in speech act theory, the metaphysics of time, and the possibility of knowledge about the future.

Carrie Figdor is professor of philosophy at the University of Iowa.

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New Books in Philosophy

Fabrizio Cariani, "The Modal Future: A Theory of Future-Directed Thought and Talk" (Cambridge UP, 2021)

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Modal Future challenges the traditional view of the word 'will'

The book discusses the selectionist semantics of 'will'

The book explores the connection between future cognition and counterfactual cognition

The book addresses the puzzle of asymmetry between past and future discourse

Future cognition and the problem of future knowledge

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts