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Full Idea
An object 'weakly' depends upon another if it is ineliminably involved in one of its definitions; and it 'strongly' depends upon the other if it is ineliminably involved in all of its definitions.
Gist of Idea
There is 'weak' dependence in one definition, and 'strong' dependence in all the definitions
Source
Kit Fine (Ontological Dependence [1995], III)
Book Ref
-: 'Aristotelian Society' [], p.285
A Reaction
It is important to remember that a definition can be very long, and not just what might go into a dictionary.
Related Idea
Idea 14260 An object only essentially has a property if that property follows from every definition of the object [Fine,K]
14250 | Metaphysics deals with the existence of things and with the nature of things [Fine,K] |
14253 | An object's 'being' isn't existence; there's more to an object than existence, and its nature doesn't include existence [Fine,K] |
14251 | A natural modal account of dependence says x depends on y if y must exist when x does [Fine,K] |
14252 | We should understand identity in terms of the propositions it renders true [Fine,K] |
14256 | How do we distinguish basic from derived esssences? [Fine,K] |
14257 | An object depends on another if the second cannot be eliminated from the first's definition [Fine,K] |
14255 | We understand things through their dependency relations [Fine,K] |
14254 | Dependency is the real counterpart of one term defining another [Fine,K] |
14259 | Maybe two objects might require simultaneous real definitions, as with two simultaneous terms [Fine,K] |
14261 | There is 'weak' dependence in one definition, and 'strong' dependence in all the definitions [Fine,K] |
14258 | Maybe some things have essential relationships as well as essential properties [Fine,K] |
14260 | An object only essentially has a property if that property follows from every definition of the object [Fine,K] |