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Single Idea 10940

[filed under theme 9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 3. Individual Essences ]

Full Idea

An 'individual essence' is a property that in addition to being essential is also unique to the object, in the sense that it is not possible that something distinct from that object possesses that property.

Gist of Idea

An 'individual essence' is possessed uniquely by a particular object

Source

Adolph Rami (Essential vs Accidental Properties [2008], §5)

Book Ref

'Stanford Online Encyclopaedia of Philosophy', ed/tr. Stanford University [plato.stanford.edu], p.10


A Reaction

She cites a 'haecceity' (or mere bare identity) as a trivial example of an individual essence.


The 21 ideas from Adolph Rami

The extremes of essentialism are that all properties are essential, or only very trivial ones [Rami]
Unlosable properties are not the same as essential properties [Rami]
Physical possibility is part of metaphysical possibility which is part of logical possibility [Rami]
If it is possible 'for all I know' then it is 'epistemically possible' [Rami]
'Sortal essentialism' says being a particular kind is what is essential [Rami]
An 'individual essence' is possessed uniquely by a particular object [Rami]
Central idea: truths need truthmakers; and possibly all truths have them, and makers entail truths [Rami]
There are five problems which the truth-maker theory might solve [Rami]
The truth-maker idea is usually justified by its explanatory power, or intuitive appeal [Rami]
The truth-making relation can be one-to-one, or many-to-many [Rami]
It seems best to assume different kinds of truth-maker, such as objects, facts, tropes, or events [Rami]
Internal relations depend either on the existence of the relata, or on their properties [Rami]
Truth-making is usually internalist, but the correspondence theory is externalist [Rami]
Correspondence theories assume that truth is a representation relation [Rami]
Truth-makers seem to be states of affairs (plus optional individuals), or individuals and properties [Rami]
Most theorists say that truth-makers necessitate their truths [Rami]
Maybe a truth-maker also works for the entailments of the given truth [Rami]
'Truth supervenes on being' avoids entities as truth-makers for negative truths [Rami]
'Truth supervenes on being' only gives necessary (not sufficient) conditions for contingent truths [Rami]
Deflationist truth is an infinitely disjunctive property [Rami]
Truth-maker theorists should probably reject the converse Barcan formula [Rami]