mahdollisuusopacity

Mahdollisuusopacity, also known as possibility opacity, is a concept in philosophy of mind and metaphysics that refers to the idea that an agent's future possibilities can be opaque to them. This means that an agent may not be aware of all the possible outcomes of their actions or decisions, even if they are aware of the present state of affairs. The term was first introduced by David Lewis in his 1979 paper "Causal Decision Theory."

Possibility opacity arises in situations where an agent's future possibilities are determined by factors that are not under their control or are not fully known to them. For example, a person might not be aware of all the possible consequences of a particular action, such as the long-term effects of a medical treatment or the outcome of a complex investment. In such cases, the agent's future possibilities are opaque to them, meaning they cannot foresee all the possible outcomes of their actions.

Possibility opacity is distinct from other forms of opacity, such as knowledge opacity, which refers to the idea that an agent may not know certain facts about their own mental states, and action opacity, which refers to the idea that an agent may not be aware of all the possible actions they could perform. Possibility opacity specifically focuses on the agent's awareness of their future possibilities.

The concept of possibility opacity has been used to address various philosophical issues, such as the free will debate and the nature of decision-making. It has also been applied in fields such as artificial intelligence and robotics, where the ability to foresee all possible outcomes of an action is crucial for effective decision-making.