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    David Lewis explicitly built the asymmetry of overdetermi... — Carmelics
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    Supports→The Stalnaker-Lewis theory of counterfactuals cannot adequately evaluate counterfactuals that would represent backward causation.

    David Lewis explicitly built the asymmetry of overdetermination into his account, meaning the framework treats past events as fixed by definition, not discovery.

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    • 1.Lewis's counterfactual analysis requires fixing past events as actual background conditions to evaluate what would be true in nearby possible worlds.
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    • 2.If past events were revisable through discovery rather than fixed, counterfactuals about causation would become indeterminate or circular.
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    • 3.Lewis explicitly rejected backward causation and temporal symmetry, which logically requires treating the past as metaphysically closed.
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    Reasons Against

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    • 1.The distinction between 'fixed by definition' and 'fixed by discovery' is unclear—both treat the past as causally inert in Lewis's system.
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    • 2.Lewis's actual writings emphasize *semantics* of causation, not metaphysical asymmetry, making the claim about 'explicit building-in' textually questionable.
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    • 3.One could adopt Lewis's counterfactual framework while remaining agnostic about whether the past's fixity is definitional or empirically discovered.
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    Causation1 linkedModality & Possibility1 linked

    Related

    If past events were revisable through discovery rather than fixed, counterfactua...Lewis explicitly rejected backward causation and temporal symmetry, which logica...Lewis's actual writings emphasize *semantics* of causation, not metaphysical asy...Lewis's counterfactual analysis requires fixing past events as actual background...
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    One could adopt Lewis's counterfactual framework while remaining agnostic about ...The Stalnaker-Lewis theory of counterfactuals cannot adequately evaluate counter...The distinction between 'fixed by definition' and 'fixed by discovery' is unclea...

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