more on this theme     |     more from this thinker

Single Idea 9018

[filed under theme 9. Objects / A. Existence of Objects / 1. Physical Objects ]

Full Idea

We might think of a physical object as simply the whole four-dimensional material content, however sporadic and heterogeneous, of some portion of space-time. If it is firm and coherent internally, we call it a body.

Gist of Idea

A physical object is the four-dimensional material content of a portion of space-time

Source

Willard Quine (Philosophy of Logic [1970], Ch.2)

Book Ref

Quine,Willard: 'Philosophy of Logic' [Prentice-Hall 1970], p.36

A Reaction

An early articulation of one of the two standard views of objects in recent philosophy. I think I prefer the Quinean view, but I am still looking into that one...

The 25 ideas from 'Philosophy of Logic'

10014 Quine rejects second-order logic, saying that predicates refer to multiple objects [Quine, by Hodes]
9012 Talk of 'truth' when sentences are mentioned; it reminds us that reality is the point of sentences [Quine]
9011 Truth is redundant for single sentences; we do better to simply speak the sentence [Quine]
9009 Single words are strongly synonymous if their interchange preserves truth [Quine]
9007 It makes no sense to say that two sentences express the same proposition [Quine]
9008 There is no rule for separating the information from other features of sentences [Quine]
9010 We can abandon propositions, and just talk of sentences and equivalence [Quine]
9013 We can eliminate 'or' from our basic theory, by paraphrasing 'p or q' as 'not(not-p and not-q)' [Quine]
9015 Universal quantification is widespread, but it is definable in terms of existential quantification [Quine]
9016 Names are not essential, because naming can be turned into predication [Quine]
9014 Some conditionals can be explained just by negation and conjunction: not(p and not-q) [Quine]
9017 Predicates are not names; predicates are the other parties to predication [Quine]
9018 A physical object is the four-dimensional material content of a portion of space-time [Quine]
9019 Four-d objects helps predication of what no longer exists, and quantification over items from different times [Quine]
9020 My logical grammar has sentences by predication, then negation, conjunction, and existential quantification [Quine]
9021 A good way of explaining an expression is saying what conditions make its contexts true [Quine]
10705 Putting a predicate letter in a quantifier is to make it the name of an entity [Quine]
10828 Quantifying over predicates is treating them as names of entities [Quine]
10012 Quantification theory can still be proved complete if we add identity [Quine]
9024 Excluded middle has three different definitions [Quine]
9025 You can't base quantification on substituting names for variables, if the irrationals cannot all be named [Quine]
9026 Some quantifications could be false substitutionally and true objectually, because of nameless objects [Quine]
9023 If you say that a contradiction is true, you change the meaning of 'not', and so change the subject [Quine]
9027 A sentence is logically true if all sentences with that grammatical structure are true [Quine]
9028 Maybe logical truth reflects reality, but in different ways in different languages [Quine]