What are Possible Worlds?: Bas C. van Fraassen - Closer to Truth

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'Possible worlds' are all the ways in which a world can be. A 'world' is a complete state of cosmic affairs: all the infinite variations of innumerable parts and their myriad relationships. Possible worlds have become an indispensable philosophical technique for exploring modalities—issues of possibility and necessity that are essential for examining God.

Bas C. van Fraassen is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at San Francisco State University and the McCosh Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Princeton University.

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