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Single Idea 14746

[from 'Sameness and Substance Renewed' by David Wiggins, in 7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 6. Criterion for Existence ]

Full Idea

It would be incredible if what there is, rather than what we select for attention, depends on human activity and our conceptual scheme. One might expand to possible sortal concepts, rather than our language, but that amounts to four-dimensionalism.

Gist of Idea

What exists can't depend on our conceptual scheme, and using all conceptual schemes is too liberal

Source

comment on David Wiggins (Sameness and Substance Renewed [2001]) by Theodore Sider - Four Dimensionalism 5.3

Book Reference

Sider,Theodore: 'Four Dimensionalism' [OUP 2003], p.156


A Reaction

[compression of a nice anti-Wiggins paragraph] He suggests that Wiggins is seeking an intermediate course (between narrow chauvinism about concepts, and excessive liberalism) in a discussion of natural kinds versus artifacts.