Counterfactuals. (Q2768759)

The book was first published in 1973 [Cambridge/MA: Harvard Univ. Press]; this is a reissue of a reprinting of 1986 that already corrected some errors, updated references, and added an appendix with abstracts of related papers of the author. There are no further changes in the present version.NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEThe problem of a logical analysis of counterfactual conditional assertions is still a lively one, and Lewis' book has lost none of its vigour with the passage of a quarter century. It can still be recommended to students as an introduction to the subject, and re-read by specialists going back to the sources. It can also be re-examined from the perspective of neighbouring areas that did not exist when the book was first published and that owe much to it, such as the formal study of belief change and of nonmonotonic reasoning. In short, it is one of the classics of twenthieth century philosophical logic.NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEIt can, however, be read in two quite different ways. One is metaphysical, as an attempt to throw light on the real structure of a special realm, of possible worlds. The other is mathematical, in which `possible worlds' are arbitrary items that serve as elements of index sets in constructions serving as models for certain kinds of assertion; the choice of terminology is then essentially heuristic. One of the beauties of the book is that even those quite sceptical about the meaningfulness of the former inquiry can derive profit and delight from the latter.