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Full Idea
Individual things are locally focused abstractions from modal structure.
Gist of Idea
Things are abstractions from structures
Source
J Ladyman / D Ross (Every Thing Must Go [2007], 3.4)
Book Ref
Ladyman,J/Ross,D: 'Every Thing Must Go' [OUP 2007], p.153
A Reaction
I am a fan of the role of abstraction in our understanding of the world, despite my limited progress in trying to explicate the idea. I can't decide whether or not there are any things. A bit basic, that!
Related Idea
Idea 14927 Physics seems to imply that we must give up self-subsistent individuals [Ladyman/Ross]
| 15856 | A thing can become one or many, depending on how we talk about it [Plato] |
| 17839 | Some things are unified by their account, which rests on a unified thought about the thing [Aristotle] |
| 2297 | If I can separate two things in my understanding, then God can separate them in reality [Descartes] |
| 13160 | To exist and be understood, a multitude must first be reduced to a unity [Leibniz] |
| 12746 | We find unity in reason, and unity in perception, but these are not true unity [Leibniz] |
| 12035 | Leibniz bases pure primitive entities on conjunctions of qualitative properties [Leibniz, by Adams,RM] |
| 20362 | We saw unity in things because our ego seemed unified (but now we doubt the ego!) [Nietzsche] |
| 14252 | We should understand identity in terms of the propositions it renders true [Fine,K] |
| 13332 | Hierarchical set membership models objects better than the subset or aggregate relations do [Fine,K] |
| 14928 | Things are abstractions from structures [Ladyman/Ross] |
| 14481 | Wherever an object exists, there are intrinsic properties instantiating every modal profile [Thomasson] |