HUME AND THE PROJECT OF NATURALIZING MODALITY

The theory of modality deals with objective possibility and impossibility. Modality is an intensely discussed topic in current analytic philosophy. The discussion concerns both epistemology and metaphysics. How do we know modalities, and how are they grounded in reality? Naturalism is also an intensely discussed project in current analytic philosophy. This project gives rise to the subtask of naturalizing modality. Historically, modality has been a topic of interest to David Hume, who is often regarded as one of the forerunners of current naturalism. I aim at bringing together the topics of modality and naturalism in outlining two alternatives for naturalizing modality in the work of Hume.