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Ideas for 'Parmenides', 'Every Thing Must Go' and 'Two Concepts of Liberty'

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8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 5. Natural Properties
Causal essentialism says properties are nothing but causal relations [Ladyman/Ross]
     Full Idea: Causal essentialism is the doctrine that the causal relations that properties bear to other properties exhaust their natures.
     From: J Ladyman / D Ross (Every Thing Must Go [2007], 3.5 n50)
     A reaction: [They cite Shoemaker, Mumford and Bird for this] Personally I don't see this view as offering relations as fundamental. The whole point is to explain everything. The only plausible primitive notion is of a power - which then generates the relations.