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Single Idea 1211

[filed under theme 9. Objects / A. Existence of Objects / 5. Individuation / a. Individuation ]

Full Idea

When we see anything to be in any place in any instant of time, we are sure that it is that very thing and not another, ..and in this consists identity, when the ideas it is attributed to vary not at all.

Gist of Idea

Viewing an object at an instant, we perceive identity when we see it must be that thing and not another

Source

John Locke (Essay Conc Human Understanding (2nd Ed) [1694], 2.27.01)

Book Ref

Locke,John: 'Essay Concerning Human Understanding', ed/tr. Nidditch,P.H. [OUP 1979], p.328

A Reaction

It seems to me that Locke starts by getting it right, that we instantly perceive identities, but then confuses it with some intellectual process of comparison, and ends up thinking that idea of things is identity of ideas, which it isn't.

The 37 ideas with the same theme [principles for picking out objects]:

13263 We can grasp whole things in science, because they have a mathematics and a teleology [Plato, by Koslicki]
11247 To know a thing is to know its primary cause or explanation [Aristotle]
12062 Aristotle's form improves on being non-predicable as a way to identify a 'this' [Aristotle, by Wiggins]
13090 The principle of diversity for corporeal substances is their matter [Aquinas, by Cover/O'Leary-Hawthorne]
16632 We distinguish one thing from another by contradiction, because this is, and that is not [Duns Scotus]
1211 Viewing an object at an instant, we perceive identity when we see it must be that thing and not another [Locke]
12508 Living things retain identity through change, by a principle of organisation [Locke]
12979 The only way we can determine individuals is by keeping hold of them [Leibniz]
12775 Things seem to be unified if we see duration, position, interaction and connection [Leibniz]
12701 Leibniz moved from individuation by whole entity to individuation by substantial form [Leibniz, by Garber]
21293 Individuation is only seeing that a thing is stable and continuous over time [Hume]
17432 Frege's universe comes already divided into objects [Frege, by Koslicki]
18441 No entity without identity (which requires a principle of individuation) [Quine]
8277 I prefer 'no object without identity' to Quine's 'no entity without identity' [Lowe on Quine]
15810 Maybe we can only individuate things by relating them to ourselves [Chisholm]
14655 The 'identity criteria' of a name are a group of essential and established facts [Plantinga]
17519 To express borderline cases of objects, you need the concept of an 'object' [Ayers]
12132 Indiscernibility is a necessary and sufficient condition for identity [Brody]
11900 We can accept criteria of distinctness and persistence, without making the counterfactual claims [Mackie,P on Wiggins]
11870 Activity individuates natural things, functions do artefacts, and intentions do artworks [Wiggins]
16492 Individuation needs accounts of identity, of change, and of singling out [Wiggins]
16493 Individuation can only be understood by the relation between things and thinkers [Wiggins]
13375 The idea that every entity must have identity conditions is an unfortunate misunderstanding [Jubien]
12017 In all instances of identity, there must be some facts to ensure the identity [Forbes,G]
8965 Neither mere matter nor pure form can individuate a sphere, so it must be a combination [Lowe]
8268 Some things (such as electrons) can be countable, while lacking proper identity [Lowe]
13102 If you individuate things by their origin, you still have to individuate the origins themselves [Cover/O'Leary-Hawthorne]
13103 Numerical difference is a symmetrical notion, unlike proper individuation [Cover/O'Leary-Hawthorne]
4715 We may say that objects have intrinsic identity conditions, but still allow multiple accounts of them [O'Grady]
12850 To individuate something we must pick it out, but also know its limits of variation [Simons]
14601 Individuation aims to count entities, by saying when there is one [Schaffer,J]
11897 A principle of individuation may pinpoint identity and distinctness, now and over time [Mackie,P]
11898 Individuation may include counterfactual possibilities, as well as identity and persistence [Mackie,P]
14950 Maybe individuation can be explained by thermodynamic depth [Ladyman/Ross]
18570 There may be several ways to individuate things like concepts [Machery]
18765 Individuation was a problem for medievals, then Leibniz, then Frege, then Wittgenstein (somewhat) [Anderson,CA]
16649 Scholastics say there is a genuine thing if it is 'separable' [Pasnau]