more from Cynthia Macdonald

Single Idea 7943

[catalogued under 9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 7. Substratum]

Full Idea

There seems to be no way of identifying a substratum as the bearer of qualities without qualifiying it as bare (having the property of being bare?), ..and they cannot be used to individuate things, because they are necessarily indiscernible.

Clarification

A 'substratum' is also known as a 'bare particular'

Gist of Idea

A substratum has the quality of being bare, and they are useless because indiscernible

Source

Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.3)

Book Reference

Macdonald,Cynthia: 'Varieties of Things' [Blackwell 2005], p.113


A Reaction

The defence would probably be a priori, claiming an axiomatic necessity for substrata in our thinking about the world, along with a denial that bareness is a property (any more than not being a contemporary of Napoleon is a property).