more from this thinker     |     more from this text

Single Idea 14291

[filed under theme 8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 6. Dispositions / e. Dispositions as potential ]

Full Idea

Dispositions should correctly be understood as more than mere possibilities. To say something has a disposition is to say something about how it is actually.

Gist of Idea

Dispositions are not just possibilities - they are features of actual things

Source

Stephen Mumford (Dispositions [1998], Pref)

Book Ref

Mumford,Stephen: 'Dispositions' [OUP 1998], p.-7

A Reaction

To me this is a basic axiom of metaphysics. The word 'power' serves well for the actual embodiment of a disposition. A power gives rise to one or more dispositions. Or one or more powers give rise to a disposition?

The 5 ideas with the same theme [dispositions as potential states for possible behaviour]:

14297 A dispositional property is not a state, but a liability to be in some state, given a condition [Ryle]
15797 All structures are dispositional, objects are dispositions sets, and events manifest dispositions [Fetzer]
14291 Dispositions are not just possibilities - they are features of actual things [Mumford]
14299 There could be dispositions that are never manifested [Mumford]
14920 If science captures the modal structure of things, that explains why its predictions work [Ladyman/Ross]