counterpart theory

noun

An alternative to standard possible worlds semantics in which an individual can exist in only one world, while other possible worlds contain (different) counterparts to that individual, and in which the modality operators (necessity, possibility) are replaced by quantifiers over possible worlds.

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Meanings

nouncounterpart theory (uncountable)
  1. uncountablemetaphysicsAn alternative to standard possible worlds semantics in which an individual can exist in only one world, while other possible worlds contain (different) counterparts to that individual, and in which the modality operators (necessity, possibility) are replaced by quantifiers over possible worlds.

    According to counterpart theory, Humphrey himself has the modal property, might have won the election, in virtue of his counterpart having the (non-modal) property, won the election.

    2013, Theodore Sider, John Hawthorne, Dean W. Zimmerman, Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics
    1 more example

    If counterpart theory calls for the rejection of some popular modal principles, that needn't worry us. But if it forces us to reject principles of the logic of identity and quantification, that is more serious.

    1983, David Lewis, Philosophical Papers, volume 1, page 45
Cite this entry
APA

counterpart theory. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterpart%20theory

MLA

“counterpart theory.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterpart%20theory. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “counterpart theory,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/counterpart%20theory.

Source: counterpart theory on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.