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Full Idea
A thing has a 'conditional power' when it has a power conditionally upon the possession of certain properties. ...We can then express my view by saying that properties are clusters of conditional powers.
Gist of Idea
Properties are clusters of conditional powers
Source
Sydney Shoemaker (Causality and Properties [1980], §04)
Book Ref
Shoemaker,Sydney: 'Identity, Cause and Mind' [OUP 2003], p.213
A Reaction
His example is a knife-shaped thing, which conditionally cuts wood if it is made of steel. Shoemaker rejected this in 1998. Mumford/Anjum prefer the earlier view. Which is fundamental? Powers are simple and primitive. Properties are complex.