Dear Sam,
Last spring it finally arrived in my mailbox--
a thick envelope from Columbia University.
I was accepted to grad school in art history but there was a catch.
My boyfriend and I live in Portland,
he's passionately involved with his post-nouveau glam grunge rock band.
He refused to leave and so I turned Columbia down and now I really really regret it.
I've tried calling admissions but they say I've missed my chance.
What should I do? Best, Stephanie
Well you did miss out Stephanie... but have you heard of modal realism?
What is modal realism you asked?
It's an idea associated with the philosopher David Lewis
Basically you're saying that you could have gone to Columbia and done great things
but didn't. That's what we call a 'counterfactual',
something could have happened but did not. We speak in counterfactuals all the time.
For instance, I could have been a Christian in a tutu-- clearly two extreme counterfactuals.
But when you think about these sentences, they're sort of strange.
What are they actually referring to?
Things that didn't happen, like you dumping your boyfriend for an Ivy League education,
and things that don't exist, like...
like a life free of regret.
But if we don't know what these sentences are referring to
how do we know whether or not they are true?
One way is to posit a possible world
To say that you could have gone to Colombia is to say that there is a possible world
in which you did in fact make the courageous decision.
So counterfactuals refer to possible worlds.
Modal realists like David Lewis will say that every possible world actually happened
So congratulations Stephanie, you went to Columbia. Yay! It happened.
In fact all possible worlds have happened, or are happening,
because all possible worlds are equally as real
The only thing that makes this possible world any different is that you
this Stephanie, are in it.
Unfortunately possible worlds aren't spatially or
temporally connected so you can't jump into the very near possible world in
which you did go to Columbia, but if you buy into any of this modal realism stuff
perhaps you could be happy that your counterpart took the plunge.
Right now she's just putting the final touches on her term paper-- or not.
Because there's another counterpart that is just getting murdered outside of her dorm
So really Stephanie you just dodged a bullet!
Instead of being in the back of an ambulance on the way to the ER,
you're just sitting in Portland bemoaning your fate!
How bad is that?
You see with possible worlds there are good ones and bad ones
The best, and the worst.
So the next time you're considering what could have been, think of modal realism.
You'll be glad you did because it makes you
realize that this world is not the worst of all possible worlds.
And you know, when I'm making an important decision,
I like to think about my counterparts out there
Y'know what are they doing right now?
There's a counterpart just reclining in his London penthouse, the bastard...
But there are also counterparts that I'm trouncing
who are futureless and friendless, unemployed...
about to check themselves into rehab and find God-- at least I beat them.
And there are many Stephanie that you beat too.
You see, the key to happiness is low expectations.
You may also just want to reapply in the fall.
Thanks, and I hope this helps.