M. Mandelkern

2025.6.13Philosophical Perspectives

DOI: 10.1111/phpe.12213

Abstract

I explore constructions which contain an embedded disjunction or , which is interpreted as , where is a possibility modal whose flavor is epistemic, circumstantial, or deontic. I show that no extant theory can account for these interpretations. I argue that the best way to do so is with a theory on which or simply means . In addition to accounting for the novel cases I discuss, this theory explains both wide‐ and narrow‐scope free choice inferences, in a similar way to the theories of Zimmermann (2000), Geurts (2005), and Goldstein (2019) which it builds on. It also accounts for recent observations about the relation between disjunction and possibility from Degano et al. (2025) and Feinmann (2023).

Citation format

MANDELKERN, M. Disjunction and possibility. Philosophical Perspectives, 2025.