Evans and the Varieties of Contingency

Abstract

In this chapter, I discuss Evans’ proposal for dealing with Kripke’s cases of contingent a priori truths. Evans elaborates both a particular strategy (based on properties of what he calls descriptive names), and a general strategy (based on a distinction between superficially and deeply contingent truths). I argue that, as it stands, the distinction is not clearly motivated, besides employing a misleading terminology. Moreover, I argue that Evans’ application of his distinction to Kripke’s cases relies on a questionable separation between cognitive content and modal profile of a proposition.