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Single Idea 12248

[from 'Laws in Nature' by Stephen Mumford, in 9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 14. Knowledge of Essences ]

Full Idea

Essentialists fail to show how we ascend from being a property universally possessed, by all kind members, to the status of being an essential property.

Gist of Idea

How can we show that a universally possessed property is an essential property?

Source

Stephen Mumford (Laws in Nature [2004], 07.5)

Book Reference

Mumford,Stephen: 'Laws in Nature' [Routledge 2006], p.117


A Reaction

This is precisely where my proposal comes in - the essential properties, as opposed to the accidentaly universals, are those which explain the nature and behaviour of each kind of thing (and each individual thing).