On the Plurality of Worlds by David Kellogg Lewis
Published 2001 · 79,200 words · about 11 hours at an average pace
How hard is On the Plurality of Worlds to read?
On the Plurality of Worlds scores 78 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it very challenging. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.
- Vocabulary: 78 out of 100
- Technical metaphysical vocabulary throughout.
- Sentence structure: 78 out of 100
- Long precise sentences with formal apparatus.
- Abstraction: 96 out of 100
- About as abstract as philosophy gets — the reality of possible worlds.
- Information density: 85 out of 100
- Every page carries argument, objection and reply.
How On the Plurality of Worlds is regarded
On the Plurality of Worlds holds a literary regard score of 79 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.