On the Plurality of Worlds

David Lewis

Wiley, Feb 8, 2001 - Philosophy - 288 pages

This book is a defense of modal realism; the thesis that our world is but one of a plurality of worlds, and that the individuals that inhabit our world are only a few out of all the inhabitants of all the worlds. Lewis argues that the philosophical utility of modal realism is a good reason for believing that it is true.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - albertgoldfain - LibraryThing

Thought provoking, but often confusing and poorly argued. I'm not convinced by Lewis that something like linguistic ersatzism is a bad account of modality.

User Review -

How does this book have so many four-star reviews? It's one of the imaginative and well-argued books on metaphysics written in the last 100 years. It's mandatory reading for anyone with philosophical aspirations.

About the author

David Lewis (1941- 2001) was Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. His publications include Convention (reissued by Blackwell 2002), Counterfactuals (reissued by Blackwell 2000), Parts of Classes (1991), and of numerous articles in metaphysics and other areas. Many of his writings are available in his Collected Papers.

Bibliographic information

• Title: On the Plurality of Worlds
• Author: David Lewis
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, reissue
• Publisher: Wiley, 2001
• ISBN: 0631224262, 9780631224266
• Length: 288 pages
• Subjects: Philosophy / General; Philosophy / Metaphysics