Bennett and ‘Proxy Actualism’

Authors

Michael Nelson and Edward N. Zalta

Reference

Philosophical Studies, 142/2 (2009): 277–292

Abstract

Karen Bennett has recently argued that the views articulated by Linsky and Zalta 1994 and 1996 and Plantinga 1974 are not consistent with the thesis of actualism, according to which everything is actual. We present and critique her arguments. We first investigate the conceptual framework she develops to interpret the target theories. As part of this effort, we question her definition of `proxy actualism'. We then discuss her main arguments that the theories carry a commitment to actual entities that do not exist. We end by considering and addressing a worry that might have been the driving force behind Bennett's claim that the Linsky and Zalta's view is not fully actualistic.

[Preprint available online in PDF]