Octopropositionalism

Abstract

This paper concerns the necessary/ contingent dichotomy, the a priori / empirical dichotomy and the analytic / synthetic dichotomy. These three dichotomies can be combined to produce a tri-dichotomy of eight modal categories. The question as to which of these categories house propositions and which don’t is a pivotal battleground in the history of analytic philosophy, with key protagonists including Descartes, Hume, Kant, Kripke, Putnam and Kaplan. All parties to the debate have accepted that some categories are void. This paper argues, to the contrary, that all eight categories house propositions—a position I dub ‘octopropositionalism’. Examples of propositions belonging to all eight categories are given.