On the Plurality of Worlds
E392408
On the Plurality of Worlds is a highly influential 1986 work of analytic metaphysics in which David Lewis systematically defends modal realism, the view that possible worlds are as real and concrete as the actual world.
All labels observed (3)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| On the Plurality of Worlds canonical | 4 |
| "On the Plurality of Worlds" | 1 |
| “On the Plurality of Worlds” (article) | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3843095 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: On the Plurality of Worlds Context triple: [David Lewis, notableWork, On the Plurality of Worlds]
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A.
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is Galileo Galilei’s influential 1632 work that presents and defends the Copernican heliocentric model through a comparative dialogue of astronomical theories.
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B.
Planetary Hypotheses
Planetary Hypotheses is an ancient astronomical treatise by Ptolemy that elaborates a geometric, three-dimensional model of the cosmos to explain the motions and distances of the planets.
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C.
De mundi systemate (On the system of the world)
De mundi systemate (On the System of the World) is the third book of Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, in which he applies his laws of motion and universal gravitation to explain the structure and dynamics of the cosmos.
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D.
Science and Hypothesis
Science and Hypothesis is a foundational 1902 work of philosophy of science by Henri Poincaré that explores the role of convention, intuition, and mathematical reasoning in the development of scientific theories.
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E.
Discours sur les différentes figures des astres
Discours sur les différentes figures des astres is an 18th-century scientific treatise by Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis that examines the shapes of celestial bodies and supports the Newtonian theory of an oblate Earth.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: On the Plurality of Worlds Target entity description: On the Plurality of Worlds is a highly influential 1986 work of analytic metaphysics in which David Lewis systematically defends modal realism, the view that possible worlds are as real and concrete as the actual world.
-
A.
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is Galileo Galilei’s influential 1632 work that presents and defends the Copernican heliocentric model through a comparative dialogue of astronomical theories.
-
B.
Planetary Hypotheses
Planetary Hypotheses is an ancient astronomical treatise by Ptolemy that elaborates a geometric, three-dimensional model of the cosmos to explain the motions and distances of the planets.
-
C.
De mundi systemate (On the system of the world)
De mundi systemate (On the System of the World) is the third book of Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, in which he applies his laws of motion and universal gravitation to explain the structure and dynamics of the cosmos.
-
D.
Science and Hypothesis
Science and Hypothesis is a foundational 1902 work of philosophy of science by Henri Poincaré that explores the role of convention, intuition, and mathematical reasoning in the development of scientific theories.
-
E.
Discours sur les différentes figures des astres
Discours sur les différentes figures des astres is an 18th-century scientific treatise by Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis that examines the shapes of celestial bodies and supports the Newtonian theory of an oblate Earth.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
non-fiction book
ⓘ
philosophy book ⓘ work of analytic metaphysics ⓘ |
| academicDiscipline |
metaphysics
ⓘ
philosophy ⓘ |
| addresses |
epistemological objections to modal realism
ⓘ
ontological objections to modal realism ⓘ the problem of inegalitarian ontology ⓘ the problem of island universes ⓘ |
| author | David Lewis ⓘ |
| claims |
counterparts in other worlds represent how an individual could have been
ⓘ
individuals exist in exactly one possible world ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| defends | modal realism ⓘ |
| genre | academic monograph ⓘ |
| hasImpactOn |
modal logic
ⓘ
semantics of counterfactuals ⓘ theories of properties and individuals ⓘ |
| hasPart |
chapter on counterpart theory
ⓘ
chapter on modal realism ⓘ chapter on objections to modal realism ⓘ chapter on possible worlds and language ⓘ |
| influenced |
contemporary analytic metaphysics
ⓘ
philosophy of language ⓘ philosophy of logic ⓘ philosophy of science ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| mainThesis |
possible worlds are as real and concrete as the actual world
ⓘ
there exists a plurality of concrete possible worlds ⓘ |
| notableFor |
development of counterpart theory
ⓘ
influence on debates about possible worlds semantics ⓘ systematic defense of modal realism ⓘ |
| opposes |
actualism about modality
ⓘ
ersatz modal realism ⓘ |
| philosophicalTradition | analytic philosophy ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1986 ⓘ |
| publisher | Basil Blackwell ⓘ |
| relatedWork |
Counterfactuals
ⓘ
Philosophical Papers, Volume II ⓘ
surface form:
Philosophical Papers (David Lewis)
|
| states | actual world is one world among many possible worlds ⓘ |
| subject |
actuality
ⓘ
counterfactuals ⓘ metaphysics ⓘ modal realism ⓘ ontological commitment ⓘ philosophy of modality ⓘ possible worlds ⓘ trans-world identity ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: On the Plurality of Worlds Description of subject: On the Plurality of Worlds is a highly influential 1986 work of analytic metaphysics in which David Lewis systematically defends modal realism, the view that possible worlds are as real and concrete as the actual world.
Referenced by (6)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
"On the Plurality of Worlds"
this entity surface form:
“On the Plurality of Worlds” (article)