The Semantics of Indicative Mood Modal Constructions

dc.contributor.advisorGrandy, Richard E.en_US
dc.creatorBarkasi, Michael Thomas Johnen_US
dc.date.accessioned2012-07-03T22:49:07Zen_US
dc.date.available2012-07-03T22:49:07Zen_US
dc.date.created2011-05en_US
dc.date.issued2011en_US
dc.description.abstractJohn MacFarlane and Andy Egan have recently argued that a number of examples, "thirdparty assessments," show that the contextualist view on "epistemic modals" held by Hacking, Teller and DeRose is incorrect. They argue that the examples support a relativistic semantics for epistemic modality. I argue that not every utterance of a modal sentence involving 'may' or 'possible that' expresses the epistemic reading, that the problematic examples are cases where the utterance is ambiguous between epistemic and circumstantial readings, and that it is the circumstantial reading which drives the problematic third-party assessments. The treatment presented here is similar to that of John Hawthorne and von Fintel and Gillies. A major component of the thesis is a careful study of the way in which contextual factors affect both the "flavor" of possibility expressed by an utterance and the ability of a speaker to defend their modal claim against problematic third-party assessments.en_US
dc.format.extent80 ppen_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.callnoTHESIS PHIL. 2011 BARKASIen_US
dc.identifier.citationBarkasi, Michael Thomas John. "The Semantics of Indicative Mood Modal Constructions." (2011) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/64381">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/64381</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.digitalBarkasiMen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/64381en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectPhilosophyen_US
dc.titleThe Semantics of Indicative Mood Modal Constructionsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentPhilosophyen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanitiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen_US
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