Everything about Necessary Truth totally explained
A
logically possible proposition is one that can be asserted without implying a logical
contradiction. This is to say that a proposition is logically possible if there's some coherent way for the world to be, under which the proposition would be true. Thus, "the
sky is
blue" (and all other actually true propositions) is logically possible:
there exists some logically coherent way for the world to be such that it's true, viz., the way that the world actually is. But this "way for the world to be" need not be the way the world actually is; it need only be logically coherent. So, for example, the false proposition the sky is
green is also logically possible, so long as we're able (as we indeed seem to be) to conceive of some logically coherent world in which the sky is green.
Philosophers generally consider logical possibility to be the broadest sort of
subjunctive possibility in
modal logic.
Logical possibility should be distinguished from other sorts of subjunctive possibilities. For example, it may be logically possible for the
universe's
physical laws to be different from what they actually are. If it is, then many things that we'd normally consider to be demonstrably impossible will still be included amongst logical possibilities: for example, that
information might be transmittable at speeds
faster-than-light. Many philosophers, then, have held that these scenarios are logically possible but nomologically impossible, for example, impossible under the actual laws of nature.
These propositions are also to be contrasted with logically
impossible propositions, for example, propositions which couldn't possibly be true under any circumstances in any universe because they're formal contradictions. While it's logically possible for the sky to be green, it isn't logically possible for the sky to be both green and
not green at the same time and in the same respect, by the logical
law of noncontradiction. Some combinations of physical laws are also known to result in contradictions. For instance,
if a given universe's physical laws are invariant through
time,
then the law of
conservation of energy holds in that universe. This is a consequence of
Noether's theorem, which can be
proven mathematically. Thus, a universe whose physical laws don't vary with time and which doesn't exhibit conservation of energy isn't logically possible.
With this understanding of logical possibility in mind, other logical modalities may be defined in terms of it: a proposition is logically necessary if it isn't logically possible for it to be false, logically impossible if it isn't logically possible for it to be true, and logically contingent if it's logically possible for it to be true and also logically possible for it to be false.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Necessary Truth'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://logical_possibility.totallyexplained.com">Logical possibility Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |