From April 29 to May 2, 2025, the Department of Philosophy hosted a workshop on the history of modal metaphysics. Scholars gathered to trace the evolution of modal thought from Aristotle to early modern philosophers.
The event opened with a session on Aristotle’s statistical theory of modality before turning to the medieval perspectives of William of Sherwood and Robert Kilwardby. Discussions then moved to John Duns Scotus’s influential shift in grounding modality in divine faculties. The final sessions examined the views of Descartes, Malebranche, Spinoza, and Leibniz, focusing on how their ideas relate to theological and counterfactual foundations of modality.
The workshop brought together faculty and graduate students from institutions including Princeton, Cambridge, Meiji University, and CUNY. It was organized by Alireza Fatollahi and featured contributions from a diverse group of international scholars.
