The difference between epistemic & deontic, necessity & possibility, in an overlapping diagram

In linguistics, modals (modal verbs, modal auxiliaries) refer to words like can, could, shall, should, will, would,
may, might, must which indicate likelihood, permission, obligation, and ability. The concept of modality includes both
modal auxiliaries as well as longer constructions, like ought, have to, be obliged to, be able to, be capable of, it’s possible
that, it’s necessary for __ to, it’s obligatory to, it’s permissible that, possibly, necessarily, maybe, perhaps, and so on.
In the diagram, the blue areas are epistemic modality (according to evidence, reasoning, or beliefs), the red areas
are deontic modality (according to a set of rules or desires), the dark areas are necessity (in all possible worlds), the
light areas are possibility (in at least one possible world). Every area has both a colour (blue/red) and a shade (light/dark)
because modality is made up of a modal base (according to what, on the basis of what) and a modal force (how strong is
the result).

Here are some examples for each of the regions:

Dark blue is epistemic necessity

1. “It must be raining outside (I can hear the rain).” In all worlds consistent with my beliefs, it is raining outside.
2. “When you add vinegar to baking soda, it should fizz.” In all worlds consistent with my reasoning about
chemical properties, vinegar added to baking soda fizzes.

Light blue is epistemic possibility

1. “It may be raining outside (I heard that it was going to rain today)” In at least one world consistent with my
beliefs, it is raining outside.
2. “The doctor has said, they can go to the bathroom.” In at least one world consistent with the doctor’s assessment
of their physical capabilities, they go to the bathroom.

Dark red is deontic necessity

1. “It must rain this week (in order for the crops not to spoil)” In all worlds consistent with my desires, it rains this
week.
2. “You should drive under the speed limit.” In all worlds consistent with the rules for proper driving, you drive
under the speed limit.

Light red is deontic possibility

“It may rain this week (as far as I’m concerned, I’m not planning any activities that would be spoiled by the rain so
I don’t care).” In at least one world consistent with my desires, it rains this week.
“The teacher has said, they can go to the bathroom.” In at least one world consistent with the teacher’s rules for the
classroom, they go to the bathroom.

Notice that English is generally good at making distinctions between necessity and possibility but bad at making
distinctions between epistemic and deontic, which must be cleared up via context. Some languages do make
straightforward lexical distinctions between various flavours of modality like epistemic and deontic.

Dictionary:
vinegar – oţet; baking soda – bicaerbnat de sodiu; to fizz – a sâsâi; assessment – evaluare; spoil – a se strica;
straightforward – simplu, de încredere.