Alexander W Kocurek
Biographic Data
| ID | 1173916 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alexander W Kocurek |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alexander W |
| FAMILY NAME | Kocurek |
| SIGNATURE | KOCUREK A W |
| AFFILIATIONS | Cornell University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0912-1488 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 11 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Is Stalnaker’s Semantics Complete
It is shown that one common formulation of Stalnaker’s semantics for conditionals is incomplete: it has no sound and (strongly) complete proof system. At first, this seems to conflict with well-known completeness results for this semantics (e.g., Stalnaker and Thomason 1967, Stalnaker 1970 and Lewis 1973, ch. 6). As it turns out, it does not: these completeness results rely on another closely-related formulation of the semantics that is provably …
Verbal Metadisputes
Many philosophical disputes have become so intractable that philosophers question whether there is a fact of the matter as to which side is right or whether these disputes are entirely verbal. Yet these “metadisputes” have also become intractable. This raises the question: Could they, too, be verbal? What would that even mean? Using tools from modal semantics, I develop a formal framework to help clarify and address these questions. I argue there…
Verbal Disagreement and Semantic Plans
Knowing what to do
Much has been written on whether practical knowledge (knowledge‐how) reduces to propositional knowledge (knowledge‐that). Less attention has been paid to what we call deliberative knowledge (knowledge‐to), i.e., knowledge ascriptions embedding other infinitival questions, like where to meet , when to leave , and what to bring . We offer an analysis of knowledge‐to and argue on its basis that, regardless of whether knowledge‐how reduces to knowled…
Idle Questions
In light of the problem of logical omniscience, some scholars have argued that belief is question-sensitive: agents don’t simply believe propositions but rather believe answers to questions. Hoek (2022) has recently developed a version of this approach on which a belief state is a “web” of questions and answers. Here, we present several challenges to Hoek’s question-sensitive account of belief. First, Hoek’s account is prone to very similar logic…
What topic continuity problem
A common objection to the very idea of conceptual engineering is the topic continuity problem: whenever one tries to ‘reengineer’ a concept, one only shifts attention away from one concept to another. Put differently, there is no such thing as conceptual revision: there's only conceptual replacement. Here, I show that topic continuity is compatible with conceptual replacement. Whether the topic is preserved in an act of conceptual replacement sim…
Metalinguistic gradability
We present a novel semantic and conversational framework for a class of gradable-like constructions. These include metalinguistic comparatives, like ‘Ann is more a linguist than a philosopher’, as well as metalinguistic equatives, degree modifications, and conditionals. To the extent previous literature discusses such metalinguistic gradability, the focus has been on comparatives. We extend our account of metalinguistic comparatives (Rudolph & Ko…
Logic talk
Counterpossibles
Acounterpossibleis a counterfactual with an impossible antecedent. Counterpossibles present a puzzle for standard theories of counterfactuals, which predict that all counterpossibles are semantically vacuous. Moreover, counterpossibles play an important role in many debates within metaphysics and epistemology, including debates over grounding, causation, modality, mathematics, science, and even God. In this article, we will explore various positi…
On the expressive power of first-order modal logic with two-dimensional operators
Counteridenticals
A counteridentical is a counterfactual with an identity statement in the antecedent. While counteridenticals generally seem nontrivial, most semantic theories for counterfactuals, when combined with the necessity of identity and distinctness, attribute vacuous truth conditions to such counterfactuals. In light of this, one could try to save the orthodox theories either by appealing to pragmatics or by denying that the antecedents of alleged count…
Counterpossibles
Acounterpossibleis a counterfactual with an impossible antecedent. Counterpossibles present a puzzle for standard theories of counterfactuals, which predict that all counterpossibles are semantically vacuous. Moreover, counterpossibles play an important role in many debates within metaphysics and epistemology, including debates over grounding, causation, modality, mathematics, science, and even God. In this article, we will explore various positi…
Counteridenticals
A counteridentical is a counterfactual with an identity statement in the antecedent. While counteridenticals generally seem nontrivial, most semantic theories for counterfactuals, when combined with the necessity of identity and distinctness, attribute vacuous truth conditions to such counterfactuals. In light of this, one could try to save the orthodox theories either by appealing to pragmatics or by denying that the antecedents of alleged count…
On the expressive power of first-order modal logic with two-dimensional operators
On the expressive power of first-order modal logic with two-dimensional operators
Counteridenticals
A counteridentical is a counterfactual with an identity statement in the antecedent. While counteridenticals generally seem nontrivial, most semantic theories for counterfactuals, when combined with the necessity of identity and distinctness, attribute vacuous truth conditions to such counterfactuals. In light of this, one could try to save the orthodox theories either by appealing to pragmatics or by denying that the antecedents of alleged count…
Logic talk
Counterpossibles
Acounterpossibleis a counterfactual with an impossible antecedent. Counterpossibles present a puzzle for standard theories of counterfactuals, which predict that all counterpossibles are semantically vacuous. Moreover, counterpossibles play an important role in many debates within metaphysics and epistemology, including debates over grounding, causation, modality, mathematics, science, and even God. In this article, we will explore various positi…
Metalinguistic gradability
We present a novel semantic and conversational framework for a class of gradable-like constructions. These include metalinguistic comparatives, like ‘Ann is more a linguist than a philosopher’, as well as metalinguistic equatives, degree modifications, and conditionals. To the extent previous literature discusses such metalinguistic gradability, the focus has been on comparatives. We extend our account of metalinguistic comparatives (Rudolph & Ko…
Verbal Disagreement and Semantic Plans
Knowing what to do
Much has been written on whether practical knowledge (knowledge‐how) reduces to propositional knowledge (knowledge‐that). Less attention has been paid to what we call deliberative knowledge (knowledge‐to), i.e., knowledge ascriptions embedding other infinitival questions, like where to meet , when to leave , and what to bring . We offer an analysis of knowledge‐to and argue on its basis that, regardless of whether knowledge‐how reduces to knowled…
Idle Questions
In light of the problem of logical omniscience, some scholars have argued that belief is question-sensitive: agents don’t simply believe propositions but rather believe answers to questions. Hoek (2022) has recently developed a version of this approach on which a belief state is a “web” of questions and answers. Here, we present several challenges to Hoek’s question-sensitive account of belief. First, Hoek’s account is prone to very similar logic…
What topic continuity problem
A common objection to the very idea of conceptual engineering is the topic continuity problem: whenever one tries to ‘reengineer’ a concept, one only shifts attention away from one concept to another. Put differently, there is no such thing as conceptual revision: there's only conceptual replacement. Here, I show that topic continuity is compatible with conceptual replacement. Whether the topic is preserved in an act of conceptual replacement sim…
Is Stalnaker’s Semantics Complete
It is shown that one common formulation of Stalnaker’s semantics for conditionals is incomplete: it has no sound and (strongly) complete proof system. At first, this seems to conflict with well-known completeness results for this semantics (e.g., Stalnaker and Thomason 1967, Stalnaker 1970 and Lewis 1973, ch. 6). As it turns out, it does not: these completeness results rely on another closely-related formulation of the semantics that is provably …
Verbal Metadisputes
Many philosophical disputes have become so intractable that philosophers question whether there is a fact of the matter as to which side is right or whether these disputes are entirely verbal. Yet these “metadisputes” have also become intractable. This raises the question: Could they, too, be verbal? What would that even mean? Using tools from modal semantics, I develop a formal framework to help clarify and address these questions. I argue there…
Computer Science (9 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Philosophy and Theoretical Science (8 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics (7 works) · Linguistics (5 works) · Logic, Reasoning, and Knowledge (5 works) · Psychology (5 works) · Metaphysics (4 works) · Philosophy of language (3 works)