The Relation Between Formal Validity and Epistemic Legitimacy in Modal Arguments with Strong Ontological Consequences

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Autor principal: Kozłowski, Kornel
Formato: Recurso digital
Lenguaje:polaco
Publicado: Zenodo 2026
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author Kozłowski, Kornel
author_facet Kozłowski, Kornel
contents <p>This paper analyzes the relation between formal validity and epistemic legitimacy in modal arguments with strong ontological consequences. The starting point is a reconstruction of two inferential schemes—the modal ontological argument (MOA) and its reversed version—within standard Kripke semantics for system S5. The analysis reveals full formal symmetry between both schemes, resulting from the properties of the accessibility relation and the consequences of axiom 5. This symmetry, however, is purely system-level and does not entail epistemic symmetry. It is argued that assessing the epistemic admissibility of the premises requires a metalevel perspective that is structurally inaccessible and unrepresentable within the language of the modal system itself. Consequently, although the premises concerning the possible necessity of existence and non-existence are formally symmetric, they may possess radically different epistemic statuses. This leads to the formulation of a two-level model for evaluating modal arguments, integrating formal validity with normative epistemic analysis and highlighting the methodological limits of purely system-based assessments of ontologically significant modal reasoning.</p>
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publishDate 2026
publisher Zenodo
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spellingShingle The Relation Between Formal Validity and Epistemic Legitimacy in Modal Arguments with Strong Ontological Consequences
Kozłowski, Kornel
modal logic
S5
modal ontological argument
formal validity
epistemic legitimacy
philosophy of logic
formal epistemology
metatheory
ontology
<p>This paper analyzes the relation between formal validity and epistemic legitimacy in modal arguments with strong ontological consequences. The starting point is a reconstruction of two inferential schemes—the modal ontological argument (MOA) and its reversed version—within standard Kripke semantics for system S5. The analysis reveals full formal symmetry between both schemes, resulting from the properties of the accessibility relation and the consequences of axiom 5. This symmetry, however, is purely system-level and does not entail epistemic symmetry. It is argued that assessing the epistemic admissibility of the premises requires a metalevel perspective that is structurally inaccessible and unrepresentable within the language of the modal system itself. Consequently, although the premises concerning the possible necessity of existence and non-existence are formally symmetric, they may possess radically different epistemic statuses. This leads to the formulation of a two-level model for evaluating modal arguments, integrating formal validity with normative epistemic analysis and highlighting the methodological limits of purely system-based assessments of ontologically significant modal reasoning.</p>
title The Relation Between Formal Validity and Epistemic Legitimacy in Modal Arguments with Strong Ontological Consequences
topic modal logic
S5
modal ontological argument
formal validity
epistemic legitimacy
philosophy of logic
formal epistemology
metatheory
ontology
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18369205