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Full Idea
To possess a dispositional property is not to be in a particular state;..it is to be bound or liable to be in a particular state, or undergo a particular change, when a particular condition is realized.
Gist of Idea
A dispositional property is not a state, but a liability to be in some state, given a condition
Source
Gilbert Ryle (The Concept of Mind [1949], II (7))
Book Ref
Ryle,Gilbert: 'The Concept of Mind' [Penguin 1949], p.43
A Reaction
Whether this view is correct is the central question about dispositions. Ryle's view is tied in with Humean regularities and behaviourism about mind. The powers view, which I favour, says a disposition is a drawn bow, an actual state of power.
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] |