Epistemic Modality and Deontic Modality: Two Sides of a Coin (original) (raw)

Epistemic modality and deontic modality at the crossroads

2013

This article is a descriptive survey on the similarities and differences between epistemic and deontic modalities as introduced by Halliday (1994: ) and Downing and Locke (199: 283) . Epistemic modality refers to the use of modality which is based on the speaker's evaluation and judgment in relation to the degree of confidence of the knowledge on the proposition. It functions to comment on and evaluate an interpretation of reality in carrying out speech functions. Deontic modality indicates whether the proposition expressed by a command is obligatory, advisable or permissible according to some normative background such as law, morality, convention, etc. In many instances, the meanings of some modals are relative and complements to each other. The evidence of some extrinsic modalities such as must, should, may, and can indicates that they may fall under different types; thus, they are at the crossroads; two types of modality which may use the same realization but they goes to di...

A new angle on an old theme: Epistemic modality reconsidered

Estudios ingleses de la Universidad Complutense, 1996

The menegrapb here reviewed is a provisional draft of a beok. Its aims are twofold: lo contribute te a bener understanding ofepistemic modality botb in itself and also as part of tIte conceptual structure (i.e. the erganizatien of the individual's knewledge of the world and of the processing systems which manipulate this knowledge). Chapter 1 is introductor>'; chapters 2, 3 and 4 cencem dic first aim, and chapter 5 the secend. In order te situate this werk in its centext in the literature, 1 will mate a few remarks about recent werks en epistemie modality.

2. An Opinionated Guide to Epistemic Modality

2008

Epistemic modals are interesting in part because their semantics is bound up both with our information about the world and with how that information changes as we share what we know. Given that epistemic modals are dependent in some way on the information available in the contexts in which they are used, it's not surprising that there is a minor but growing industry of work in semantics and the philosophy of language concerned with the precise nature of the context-dependency of epistemically modalized sentences.

Introduction: Epistemic Modals

Topoi, 2016

you are upset'' and can be used to convey different types of modality depending on contextual factors. When used epistemically, these expressions mark the necessity or possibility of an underlying or prejacent proposition relative to a body of evidence or knowledge. Consider, for example, the following exchange between three colleagues who are having lunch in the office break room:

Epistemicism and Modality

Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 2016

What kind of semantics should someone who accepts the epistemicist theory of vagueness defended in Timothy Williamson's Vagueness (1994) give a defi niteness operator? To impose some interesting constraints on acceptable answers to this question, I will assume that the object language also contains a metaphysical necessity operator and a metaphysical actuality operator. I will suggest that the answer is to be found by working within a three-dimensional model theory. I will provide sketches of two ways of extracting an epistemicist semantics from that model theory, one of which I will fi nd to be more plausible than the other.

Review of Epistemic Modality, edited by Andy Egan and Brian Weatherson

This is a long-anticipated collection of ten essays on epistemic modality by leading thinkers of the field, edited and introduced by Andy Egan and Brian Weatherson. Most of the papers published here give detailed accounts of the semantics and pragmatics of plain epistemically modalized sentences such as (1) Mary might be in Chicago, and so I will focus on this aspect of the volume, summarizing the remaining papers in my concluding remarks.

The Difference Between Modal Verbs in Deontic and Epistemic Modality

2012

Modality is always interesting to discuss. Understanding it is crucial for both language teachers and learners. This essay discusses the concept of modality, its types and uses. It has a goal to find the difference between deontic and epistemic modality that is indicated by their modal verbs. It also provides the readers a better understanding of modality, particularly of its types and uses. The result of the analysis shows that in general, deontic modality indicates obligation and permission, while epistemic modality expresses possibility and prediction. However, the difference between deontic and epistemic modality is not a clear cut, since one single modal verb can express both types, and one single proposition can be expressed by more than one modal verb.