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9. Objects / B. Unity of Objects / 2. Substance / b. Need for substance

[why we need the concept of substance]

6 ideas
We may have to postulate unobservable and unknowable substances [Aristotle]
By comparing qualities and features, reason can gradually infer the nature of substance [Grosseteste]
Spinoza implies that thought is impossible without the notion of substance [Spinoza, by Scruton]
Aggregates don’t reduce to points, or atoms, or illusion, so must reduce to substance [Leibniz]
We accept substance, to avoid infinite backwards chains of meaning [Wittgenstein, by Potter]
If dependence is well-founded, with no infinite backward chains, this implies substances [Potter]