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    Carmelics

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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that If 'actually being on David's right' were a necessary property of Paul, counterpart theory would be unable to evaluate Paul's modal properties without trivializing all actual relational facts as necessary, an unacceptable result (Lewis, 'On the Plurality of Worlds', 1986).

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    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Counterpart theory can classify relations as essential or accidental based on the identity criteria of counterparts, not actual facts.
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    • 2.The claim equivocates between 'actual relational facts' and 'necessary properties'—actuality doesn't entail necessity in counterpart semantics.
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    • 3.Lewis himself permits some actual relations to be necessary (e.g., mereological relations), so the argument's scope is unclear.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.Counterpart theory requires distinguishing necessary from contingent properties to make modal claims meaningful and non-trivial.
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    • 2.If all actual relational facts were necessary, no possible world could differ from the actual world in any relational respect.
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    • 3.Treating spatiotemporal relations as necessary would collapse possibility into actuality, undermining counterpart theory's explanatory purpose.
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