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The identification of essential properties with necessary ones – a central commitment of the modal account of essentialism (MAE) – has been widely accepted for decades. Fine's (1994) influential critique, however, revealed that necessity fails to capture essence. Subsequent modal responses have attempted to accommodate this challenge, yet none has delivered a fully satisfactory account. This paper examines the shortcomings of these modal strategies and suggests a constructive alternative.What went wrong with modal responses to Fine?Analysis 86 (1): 92-100. 2026.
