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Full Idea
For each particular it is likely that there exists at least one individuating conjunction of properties, that is, a conjunction of properties such that the particular instantiates this conjunction and nothing else does.
Gist of Idea
It is likely that particulars can be individuated by unique conjunctions of properties
Source
David M. Armstrong (What is a Law of Nature? [1983], 02.3)
Book Ref
Armstrong,D.M.: 'What is a Law of Nature?' [CUP 1985], p.14
A Reaction
Armstrong commits to a famous Leibniz view, but I don't see his grounds for it. There is nothing incoherent about nature churning out perfect replicas of things, such as quarks and electrons. Would we care if two pens were perfectly identical?
| 14524 | Bodies are combinations of shape, size, resistance and weight [Epicurus] |
| 12971 | If two individuals could be indistinguishable, there could be no principle of individuation [Leibniz] |
| 19379 | The law of the series, which determines future states of a substance, is what individuates it [Leibniz] |
| 10194 | Two things can only be distinguished by a distinct property or a distinct relation [Black] |
| 17668 | It is likely that particulars can be individuated by unique conjunctions of properties [Armstrong] |
| 8520 | An individual is a union of a group of qualities and a position [Quinton, by Campbell,K] |
| 17647 | Kripke individuates objects by essential modal properties (and presupposes essentialism) [Kripke, by Putnam] |
| 15455 | Total intrinsic properties give us what a thing is [Lewis] |
| 8303 | Criteria of identity cannot individuate objects, because they are shared among different types [Lowe] |
| 16680 | Scholastics thought Quantity could be the principle of individuation [Pasnau] |
| 16785 | If you reject essences, questions of individuation become extremely difficult [Pasnau] |