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Single Idea 10493

[filed under theme 7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 7. Abstract/Concrete / a. Abstract/concrete ]

Full Idea

It is said that concrete objects have causal powers while abstract ones do not, or that concrete objects exist in space and time while abstract ones do not, but these categories seem crude and inappropriate for modern physics.

Gist of Idea

If concrete is spatio-temporal and causal, and abstract isn't, the distinction doesn't suit physics

Source

J Ladyman / D Ross (Every Thing Must Go [2007], 3.6)

Book Ref

Ladyman,J/Ross,D: 'Every Thing Must Go' [OUP 2007], p.160

A Reaction

I don't find this convincing. He gives example of peculiar causation, but I don't believe modern physics proposes any entities which are totally acausal and non-spatiotemporal. Maybe the distinction needs a defence.

The 26 ideas with the same theme [general ideas about the abstract/concrete border]:

12966 Objects of ideas can be divided into abstract and concrete, and then further subdivided [Leibniz]
10539 Frege refers to 'concrete' objects, but they are no different in principle from abstract ones [Frege, by Dummett]
11093 We don't say 'red' is abstract, unlike a river, just because it has discontinuous shape [Quine]
1630 We can only see an alien language in terms of our own thought structures (e.g. physical/abstract) [Quine]
10540 We can't say that light is concrete but radio waves abstract [Dummett]
10515 Ostension is possible for concreta; abstracta can only be referred to via other objects [Dummett, by Hale]
10544 The concrete/abstract distinction seems crude: in which category is the Mistral? [Dummett]
10546 We don't need a sharp concrete/abstract distinction [Dummett]
9884 The distinction of concrete/abstract, or actual/non-actual, is a scale, not a dichotomy [Dummett]
10577 Concrete objects have few essential properties, but properties of abstractions are mostly essential [Yablo]
10578 We are thought to know concreta a posteriori, and many abstracta a priori [Yablo]
9210 Possible objects are abstract; actual concrete objects are possible; so abstract/concrete are compatible [Fine,K]
10227 The abstract/concrete boundary now seems blurred, and would need a defence [Shapiro]
10226 Mathematicians regard arithmetic as concrete, and group theory as abstract [Shapiro]
9918 Abstract/concrete is a distinction of kind, not degree [Burgess/Rosen]
9929 Much of what science says about concrete entities is 'abstraction-laden' [Burgess/Rosen]
9619 David's 'Napoleon' is about something concrete and something abstract [Brown,JR]
10512 The abstract/concrete distinction is based on what is perceivable, causal and located [Hale]
10517 Colours and points seem to be both concrete and abstract [Hale]
10519 The abstract/concrete distinction is in the relations in the identity-criteria of object-names [Hale]
10520 Token-letters and token-words are concrete objects, type-letters and type-words abstract [Hale]
8953 Abstract entities don't depend on their concrete entities ...but maybe on the totality of concrete things [Szabó]
22287 If 'concrete' is the negative of 'abstract', that means desires and hallucinations are concrete [Potter]
13744 The cosmos is the only fundamental entity, from which all else exists by abstraction [Schaffer,J]
10493 If concrete is spatio-temporal and causal, and abstract isn't, the distinction doesn't suit physics [Ladyman/Ross]
14934 Concrete and abstract are too crude for modern physics [Ladyman/Ross]