Defining the boulomaic

From an online study on the grammar of Turkish:


“Boulomaic modalities are glossed:

‘It is hoped/feared/regretted/desired .…
that p’”

Rescher (qtd. in Palmer 1986: 12).

On the other hand Palmer (1986, 2001) does
not use the term boulomaic and uses the Latin based term volitive in his study.

Kiefer
(1992: 2517) also names the modal utterances where the necessity and the possibility of the
act has to do with someone’s wishes as boulomaic modality, as in sentence (18a) which
can be interpreted as (18b).


(18) a.

Charles may be our leader

b. In view of their [the speaker’s] wishes it is not excluded that
Charles be our leader.

von Wright (qtd. in Palmer 1986: 11) also mentions “dynamic modality which
is concerned with ability and disposition” as in

(19) John can speak German

“In pioneering work on modal logic von Wright (qtd. in Palmer 1986: 12)
distinguishes four ‘modes’ the alethic modes or modes of truth, the epistemic modes or
modes of knowing, the deontic modes or modes of obligation, the existential modes or
modes of existence” (qtd. in Palmer 1986). He sets out the possibilities in a table:
Table 2: Modes defined by von Wright (qtd. in Palmer 1986).
Two other types of modality within the deontic modals, circumstantial and
dispositional modality, are very close to ability or capability (Kiefer 1992; Kratzer, 1991),
similar to the dynamic modality distinction of Palmer (1986). To Kiefer (1987) in the
circumstantial modal utterance the circumstances are the source of the possibility or
necessity of the state of affairs, whereas in dispositional modality they are determined with
reference to dispositions of the agent. The following are the examples of Kiefer (1991) for
alethic epistemic deontic existential
necessary verified obligatory universal
possible - permitted existing
contingent undecided indiferent -
impossible falsified forbidden empty
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the circumstantial and dispositional modalities with the interpretations.
(20) Bill can only relax in his summer house (The circumstances are
such that Bill can only relax in his summer house)
(21) In the mountains pitched roofs must be built (In the mountains the
circumstances are such that pitched roofs must be built)
(22) Jane cannot sing today (Jane’s dispositions are such today that she
cannot sing today.)
(23) John must sneeze (John’s dispositions are such that he must sneeze).
Kratzer defines the distinction between the epistemic and circumstantial modal
bases (§ II.3.3.2).