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Full Idea
Holes are things of such a kind that they can coincide without being identical - as are, for example, shadows and spots of light.
Gist of Idea
Holes, shadows and spots of light can coincide without being identical
Source
E.J. Lowe (Two Notions of Being: Entity and Essence [2008], 1)
Book Ref
'Being: Developments in Contemporary Metaphysics', ed/tr. Le Poidevin,R [CUP 2008], p.28
A Reaction
His point is that they thereby fail one of the standard tests for being an 'object'.
| 13917 | Metaphysics aims to identify categories of being, and show their interdependency [Lowe] |
| 13919 | Philosophy aims not at the 'analysis of concepts', but at understanding the essences of things [Lowe] |
| 13918 | Holes, shadows and spots of light can coincide without being identical [Lowe] |
| 13921 | All things must have an essence (a 'what it is'), or we would be unable to think about them [Lowe] |
| 13922 | Knowing an essence is just knowing what the thing is, not knowing some further thing [Lowe] |
| 13920 | Each thing has to be of a general kind, because it belongs to some category [Lowe] |