Epistemic Projects, Indispensability, and the Structure of Modal Thought

In this paper, I argue that modal epistemology should pay more attention to questions about the structure and function of modal thought. We can treat these questions from synchronic and diachronic angles. In this paper, from a synchronic perspective, I consider whether a general argument for the epistemic support of modal though can be made on the basis of modal thoughs’s indispensability for what Enoch and Schechter (2008) call rationally required epistemic projects. After formulating the argument, I defend it from various objections. I also examine the possibility of considering the indispensability of modal thought in terms of its components, and finally, I argue that we also need to approach these issues from a diachronic perspective, and sketch how to approach this task.