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Ideas for
'fragments/reports', 'Physics' and 'The Philosophy of Nature: new essentialism'
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33 ideas
26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 1. Nature
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5085
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'Nature' refers to two things - form and matter [Aristotle]
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5113
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Nothing natural is disorderly, because nature is responsible for all order [Aristotle]
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5092
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Nature is a principle of change, so we must understand change first [Aristotle]
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26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 2. Natural Purpose / a. Final purpose
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5089
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Nature has purpose, and aims at what is better. Is it coincidence that crops grow when it rains? [Aristotle]
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26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 2. Natural Purpose / b. Limited purposes
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5091
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Teeth and crops are predictable, so they cannot be mere chance, but must have a purpose [Aristotle]
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5087
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A thing's purpose is ambiguous, and from one point of view we ourselves are ends [Aristotle]
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5086
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The nature of a thing is its end and purpose [Aristotle]
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26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 3. Natural Function
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5108
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Is ceasing-to-be unnatural if it happens by force, and natural otherwise? [Aristotle]
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26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 5. Infinite in Nature
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5093
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Continuity depends on infinity, because the continuous is infinitely divisible [Aristotle]
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5095
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The heavens seem to be infinite, because we cannot imagine their end [Aristotle]
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26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / a. Greek matter
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16762
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Matter desires form, as female desires male, and ugliness desires beauty [Aristotle]
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26. Natural Theory / A. Speculations on Nature / 6. Early Matter Theories / f. Ancient elements
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17464
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When Aristotle's elements compound they are stable, so why would they ever separate? [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry on Aristotle]
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26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 1. Natural Kinds
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5472
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Natural kinds are of objects/substances, or events/processes, or intrinsic natures [Ellis]
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26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 4. Source of Kinds
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5471
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Essentialism says natural kinds are fundamental to nature, and determine the laws [Ellis]
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26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 6. Necessity of Kinds
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5446
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For essentialists two members of a natural kind must be identical [Ellis]
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5480
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The whole of our world is a natural kind, so all worlds like it necessarily have the same laws [Ellis]
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26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 2. Types of cause
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11252
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The 'form' of a thing explains why the matter constitutes that particular thing [Aristotle, by Politis]
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11253
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A 'material' cause/explanation is the form of whatever is the source [Aristotle, by Politis]
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13107
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Causes produce a few things in their own right, and innumerable things coincidentally [Aristotle]
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26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 3. Final causes
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8332
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The four causes are the material, the form, the source, and the end [Aristotle]
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26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 9. General Causation / d. Causal necessity
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5445
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Essentialists regard inanimate objects as genuine causal agents [Ellis]
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5463
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Essentialists believe causation is necessary, resulting from dispositions and circumstances [Ellis]
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5491
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A general theory of causation is only possible in an area if natural kinds are involved [Ellis]
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26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 1. Laws of Nature
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5442
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For 'passivists' behaviour is imposed on things from outside [Ellis]
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5473
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The laws of nature imitate the hierarchy of natural kinds [Ellis]
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5474
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Laws of nature tend to describe ideal things, or ideal circumstances [Ellis]
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5475
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We must explain the necessity, idealisation, ontology and structure of natural laws [Ellis]
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26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 4. Regularities / a. Regularity theory
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5460
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Causal relations cannot be reduced to regularities, as they could occur just once [Ellis]
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26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 8. Scientific Essentialism / a. Scientific essentialism
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5459
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Essentialists say dispositions are basic, rather than supervenient on matter and natural laws [Ellis]
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5461
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The essence of uranium is its atomic number and its electron shell [Ellis]
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26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 8. Scientific Essentialism / b. Scientific necessity
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5464
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For essentialists, laws of nature are metaphysically necessary, being based on essences of natural kinds [Ellis]
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26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 8. Scientific Essentialism / d. Knowing essences
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9787
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Scientists must know the essential attributes of the things they study [Aristotle]
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5487
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Essentialism requires a clear separation of semantics, epistemology and ontology [Ellis]
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