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9. Objects / A. Existence of Objects / 5. Individuation / a. Individuation

[principles for picking out objects]

37 ideas
We can grasp whole things in science, because they have a mathematics and a teleology [Plato, by Koslicki]
To know a thing is to know its primary cause or explanation [Aristotle]
Aristotle's form improves on being non-predicable as a way to identify a 'this' [Aristotle, by Wiggins]
The principle of diversity for corporeal substances is their matter [Aquinas, by Cover/O'Leary-Hawthorne]
We distinguish one thing from another by contradiction, because this is, and that is not [Duns Scotus]
Viewing an object at an instant, we perceive identity when we see it must be that thing and not another [Locke]
Living things retain identity through change, by a principle of organisation [Locke]
The only way we can determine individuals is by keeping hold of them [Leibniz]
Things seem to be unified if we see duration, position, interaction and connection [Leibniz]
Leibniz moved from individuation by whole entity to individuation by substantial form [Leibniz, by Garber]
Individuation is only seeing that a thing is stable and continuous over time [Hume]
Frege's universe comes already divided into objects [Frege, by Koslicki]
No entity without identity (which requires a principle of individuation) [Quine]
I prefer 'no object without identity' to Quine's 'no entity without identity' [Lowe on Quine]
Maybe we can only individuate things by relating them to ourselves [Chisholm]
The 'identity criteria' of a name are a group of essential and established facts [Plantinga]
To express borderline cases of objects, you need the concept of an 'object' [Ayers]
Indiscernibility is a necessary and sufficient condition for identity [Brody]
We can accept criteria of distinctness and persistence, without making the counterfactual claims [Mackie,P on Wiggins]
Activity individuates natural things, functions do artefacts, and intentions do artworks [Wiggins]
Individuation needs accounts of identity, of change, and of singling out [Wiggins]
Individuation can only be understood by the relation between things and thinkers [Wiggins]
The idea that every entity must have identity conditions is an unfortunate misunderstanding [Jubien]
In all instances of identity, there must be some facts to ensure the identity [Forbes,G]
Neither mere matter nor pure form can individuate a sphere, so it must be a combination [Lowe]
Some things (such as electrons) can be countable, while lacking proper identity [Lowe]
If you individuate things by their origin, you still have to individuate the origins themselves [Cover/O'Leary-Hawthorne]
Numerical difference is a symmetrical notion, unlike proper individuation [Cover/O'Leary-Hawthorne]
We may say that objects have intrinsic identity conditions, but still allow multiple accounts of them [O'Grady]
To individuate something we must pick it out, but also know its limits of variation [Simons]
Individuation aims to count entities, by saying when there is one [Schaffer,J]
A principle of individuation may pinpoint identity and distinctness, now and over time [Mackie,P]
Individuation may include counterfactual possibilities, as well as identity and persistence [Mackie,P]
Maybe individuation can be explained by thermodynamic depth [Ladyman/Ross]
There may be several ways to individuate things like concepts [Machery]
Individuation was a problem for medievals, then Leibniz, then Frege, then Wittgenstein (somewhat) [Anderson,CA]
Scholastics say there is a genuine thing if it is 'separable' [Pasnau]