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Single Idea 12142

[filed under theme 9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 7. Essence and Necessity / a. Essence as necessary properties ]

Full Idea

'a has property P essentially' means 'a has P, a always had P, there is no possible past in which P exists without P, and there is no moment of time at which a has had P and at which there is a possible future in which a exists without P'

Gist of Idea

Essentially, a has P, always had P, must have had P, and has never had a future without P

Source

Baruch Brody (Identity and Essence [1980], 6)

Book Ref

Brody,Baruch: 'Identity and Essence' [Princeton 1980], p.135

A Reaction

This is Brody's own final account of essentialism. This is a carefully qualified form of the view that essential properties are, on the whole, the necessary properties, which view I take to be fundamentally mistaken.

The 13 ideas from 'Identity and Essence'

15834 Brody bases sortal essentialism on properties required throughout something's existence [Brody, by Mackie,P]
11895 A sortal essence is a property which once possessed always possessed [Brody, by Mackie,P]
12141 Maybe essential properties are those which determine a natural kind? [Brody]
12130 a and b share all properties; so they share being-identical-with-a; so a = b [Brody]
12132 Indiscernibility is a necessary and sufficient condition for identity [Brody]
12135 Interrupted objects have two first moments of existence, which could be two beginnings [Brody]
12138 Identity across possible worlds is prior to rigid designation [Brody]
12137 De re essentialism standardly says all possible objects identical with a have a's essential properties [Brody]
12140 Modern emphasis is on properties had essentially; traditional emphasis is on sort-defining properties [Brody]
12139 Mereological essentialism says that every part that ensures the existence is essential [Brody]
12142 Essentially, a has P, always had P, must have had P, and has never had a future without P [Brody]
12143 An object having a property essentially is equivalent to its having it necessarily [Brody]
12144 Essentialism is justified if the essential properties of things explain their other properties [Brody]