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Single Idea 13376

[filed under theme 9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 7. Essence and Necessity / b. Essence not necessities ]

Full Idea

I argue against the widely accepted characterization of the doctrine of 'essentialism' as the acceptance of nontrivial de re necessity

Clarification

'De re' means concerning the things themselves, not just how they are described

Gist of Idea

We should not regard essentialism as just nontrivial de re necessity

Source

Michael Jubien (Possibility [2009], Intro)

Book Ref

Jubien,Michael: 'Possibility' [OUP 2009], p.-3

A Reaction

I agree entirely. The notion of an essence is powerful if clearly distinguished. The test is: can everything being said about essences be just as easily said by referring to necessities? If so, you are talking about the wrong thing.

The 52 ideas from Michael Jubien

11110 We mustn't confuse a similar person with the same person [Jubien]
11108 Your properties, not some other world, decide your possibilities [Jubien]
11111 Modal truths are facts about parts of this world, not about remote maximal entities [Jubien]
11105 We have no idea how many 'possible worlds' there might be [Jubien]
11107 If there are no other possible worlds, do we then exist necessarily? [Jubien]
11106 If all possible worlds just happened to include stars, their existence would be necessary [Jubien]
11112 Possible worlds just give parallel contingencies, with no explanation at all of necessity [Jubien]
11109 If other worlds exist, then they are scattered parts of the actual world [Jubien]
11113 Worlds don't explain necessity; we use necessity to decide on possible worlds [Jubien]
11117 Haecceities implausibly have no qualities [Jubien]
11116 Being a physical object is our most fundamental category [Jubien]
11115 'All horses' either picks out the horses, or the things which are horses [Jubien]
11118 Modal propositions transcend the concrete, but not the actual [Jubien]
11119 De re necessity is just de dicto necessity about object-essences [Jubien]
9963 If we all intuited mathematical objects, platonism would be agreed [Jubien]
9962 How can pure abstract entities give models to serve as interpretations? [Jubien]
9964 Since mathematical objects are essentially relational, they can't be picked out on their own [Jubien]
9965 There couldn't just be one number, such as 17 [Jubien]
9966 The subject-matter of (pure) mathematics is abstract structure [Jubien]
9967 'Impure' sets have a concrete member, while 'pure' (abstract) sets do not [Jubien]
9968 A model is 'fundamental' if it contains only concrete entities [Jubien]
9969 The empty set is the purest abstract object [Jubien]
13375 The idea that every entity must have identity conditions is an unfortunate misunderstanding [Jubien]
13376 We should not regard essentialism as just nontrivial de re necessity [Jubien]
13378 It is a mistake to think that the logic developed for mathematics can clarify language and philosophy [Jubien]
13374 To analyse modality, we must give accounts of objects, properties and relations [Jubien]
13377 First-order logic tilts in favour of the direct reference theory, in its use of constants for objects [Jubien]
13379 If two objects are indiscernible across spacetime, how could we decide whether or not they are the same? [Jubien]
13381 Thinking of them as 'ships' the repaired ship is the original, but as 'objects' the reassembly is the original [Jubien]
13382 Rearranging the planks as a ship is confusing; we'd say it was the same 'object' with a different arrangement [Jubien]
13383 If the statue is loved and the clay hated, that is about the object first qua statue, then qua clay [Jubien]
13380 Parts seem to matter when it is just an object, but not matter when it is a kind of object [Jubien]
13384 Objects need conventions for their matter, their temporal possibility, and their spatial possibility [Jubien]
13385 Basically, the world doesn't have ready-made 'objects'; we carve objects any way we like [Jubien]
13386 If objects are just conventional, there is no ontological distinction between stuff and things [Jubien]
13388 It is incoherent to think that a given entity depends on its kind for its existence [Jubien]
13391 Modality concerns relations among platonic properties [Jubien]
13389 The love of possible worlds is part of the dream that technical logic solves philosophical problems [Jubien]
13390 Possible worlds don't explain necessity, because they are a bunch of parallel contingencies [Jubien]
13392 Philosophers reduce complex English kind-quantifiers to the simplistic first-order quantifier [Jubien]
13393 Any entity has the unique property of being that specific entity [Jubien]
13394 Entailment does not result from mutual necessity; mutual necessity ensures entailment [Jubien]
13395 If an analysis shows the features of a concept, it doesn't seem to 'reduce' the concept [Jubien]
13396 Analysing mental concepts points to 'inclusionism' - that mental phenomena are part of the physical [Jubien]
13399 Examples show that ordinary proper names are not rigid designators [Jubien]
13398 We could make a contingent description into a rigid and necessary one by adding 'actual' to it [Jubien]
13400 If one entity is an object, a statue, and some clay, these come apart in at least three ways [Jubien]
13401 The idea of coincident objects is a last resort, as it is opposed to commonsense naturalism [Jubien]
13403 The category of Venus is not 'object', or even 'planet', but a particular class of good-sized object [Jubien]
13402 We only grasp a name if we know whether to apply it when the bearer changes [Jubien]
13404 To exist necessarily is to have an essence whose own essence must be instantiated [Jubien]
13405 The baptiser picks the bearer of a name, but social use decides the category [Jubien]