Caroline Newton WORK IN PROGRESS 1 “The way things could have been” … An exploration into Stalnaker’s possible worlds concept and its relevance for housing studies. Caroline Newton Introduction In this essay I start from Stalnaker’s possible worlds concept and briefly answer the question in what way possible worlds contribute to the way people are trying to understand the world in order to make decisions in a given situation. Additionally the concept of path dependency is introduced. Path dependency is often used in economics and the social sciences, but it proves especially useful when studying housing policies and spatial practices. If Stalnaker’s possible worlds are “The ways things could have been”, maybe path dependency is about “the way things can no longer be (because of..)”. The aim of this essay is to rethink the path dependency approach in housing studies, using the insights from Stalnaker’s possible worlds concept and consequently to put together a more complete framework of this approach in the study of housing policies and spatial planning. In order to do this I will first explore the concept of possible worlds, and the way it is used by Stalnaker. In a second part Stalnaker’s motivation for using possible worlds is discussed, then the concept of path dependency is introduced in a third section. A fourth section illustrates how combining both approaches can provide a clearer understanding by briefly examining housing policies in Flanders. Finally the concluding section brings everything together and formulates some final remarks. Introducing Stalnaker’s possible worlds concept In his article “Possible Worlds”, Stalnaker (1976) starts from Lewis’ (1973) conceptualisation of possible worlds. Whereby Lewis builds his reasoning on the undeniable argument that there is a possibility that things might have been different than we are experiencing them now and here, Lewis phrases it as: … I therefore believe in the existence of entities which might be called ‘ways things could have been’. I prefer to call them ‘possible worlds’ (Lewis, 1973, p. 84, cited in Stalnaker, 1976). Stalnaker (1976) accurately argues that, although the term ‘possible worlds’ might seem “ludicrous” to some, it is indeed something we do all of our lives, from small daily activities, eg. If I would have put on my boots instead of these pumps this morning, then maybe I wouldn’t have slipped in the snow, to the more challenging ones, like would I have met my husband or wife if I had accepted the job in Dubai three years ago?