What is a possible world? Where do possible worlds come from? And what are they used for? How many possible worlds are there? Are they real worlds? Concrete worlds? Or are they just descriptions or stories about the way things might have been? Are there any impossible worlds? If so, what are they? And why? How does it all work? What should we make of these modal mysteries? Is there any way to tame this important philosophical beast and remove some of the mystery that overshadows its merits? Is it possible to explain what possible worlds are and how philosophers use them without getting too technically entangled?

What is the philosophy of language? How does the philosophy of language differ from linguistics, or from other branches of philosophy? Why do philosophers study language? What is the purpose of language? How does language relate to the mind, both of the speaker and the interpreter? How does language relate to the world? What is the nature of meaning? What is the relation between meaning and reference? How are sentences composed into a meaningful whole, and what are the meanings of the parts of sentences? Why do expressions have the meanings they have? How do words and sentences acquire meanings?

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