Abstract

The best alternative to the error theory proposed in Chapter 5 centers on necessitism, the claim that, necessarily, whatever exists exists necessarily. There is a popular argument for necessitism that starts from the idea that a singular proposition—a proposition that is directly about something—can exist only if what it is directly about exists as well. This argument raises a special worry for me since, it turns out, some of the best ways of resisting this argument are at odds with my own argument in Chapter 5. I argue, however, that the argument for necessitism fails for reasons that are unrelated to my argument in Chapter 5. I argue, further, that in order to make sense of causation we must reject necessitism.