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Full Idea
Properties may be more or less intrinsic; being a brother has more of an admixture of intrinsic structure than being a sibling does, yet both are extrinsic.
Gist of Idea
Extrinsic properties come in degrees, with 'brother' less extrinsic than 'sibling'
Source
David Lewis (Extrinsic Properties [1983], I)
Book Ref
Lewis,David: 'Papers in Metaphysics and Epistemology' [CUP 1999], p.111
A Reaction
I suppose the point is that a brother is intrinsically male - but then a sibling is intrinsically human. A totally extrinsic relation would be one between entities which shared virtually no categories of existence.
| 14979 | Being alone doesn't guarantee intrinsic properties; 'being alone' is itself extrinsic [Lewis, by Sider] |
| 15454 | Extrinsic properties come in degrees, with 'brother' less extrinsic than 'sibling' [Lewis] |
| 15455 | Total intrinsic properties give us what a thing is [Lewis] |