Alethic modality refers to the different ways of expressing the truthfulness or falsity of a statement. It's like asking whether something is true or not.
For example, let's take the statement "The sky is blue." This statement is true, isn't it? But what if it was cloudy outside? Or what if it's night time, and we can't see the sky at all? Then the statement would be false.
So, alethic modality helps us to understand the different ways we can express the truthfulness or falsity of a statement, depending on different conditions.
Some ways to express alethic modality are:
1. Necessary truth: A statement that is true under all possible conditions. For example, "All triangles have three sides."
2. Contingent truth: A statement that is true under certain conditions. For example, "The sky is blue on a clear day."
3. Necessary falsity: A statement that is false under all possible conditions. For example, "2+2=5."
4. Contingent falsity: A statement that is false under certain conditions. For example, "The sky is pink."
Alethic modality can be quite abstract, but it helps us to think about truth and falsity in different ways. Just remember that when we talk about alethic modality, we are talking about whether something is true or false, and under what conditions.