Single Idea 3431

[catalogued under 7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 5. Supervenience / c. Significance of supervenience]

Full Idea

Supervenience opens up the possibility of a relationship that gives us determination, or dependence, without reduction (as beauty supervenes on physical properties, but can't be given a physical definition).

Gist of Idea

Supervenience suggest dependence without reduction (e.g. beauty)

Source

Jaegwon Kim (Philosophy of Mind [1996], p.223)

Book Reference

Kim,Jaegwon: 'Philosophy of Mind' [Westview 1998], p.223


A Reaction

Beauty is a bad analogy, since it rather obviously involves a beholder. There is nothing more to a statue than a substance of a certain shape. There are no good analogies for this sort of supervenience, because it doesn't exist.