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Ideas for '', 'The Universe as We Find It' and 'The Eumenides'

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2 ideas

8. Modes of Existence / C. Powers and Dispositions / 5. Powers and Properties
Are all properties powers, or are there also qualities, or do qualities have the powers? [Heil]
     Full Idea: Some philosophers who embrace properties as powers hold that every property is a power (Bird), or that some properties are qualities and some are powers (Ellis; Molnar). The latter include powers which are 'grounded in' qualities (Mumford).
     From: John Heil (The Universe as We Find It [2012], 04.4)
     A reaction: I don't like Heil's emphasis on 'qualities', which seems to imply their phenomenal rather than their real aspect. I'm inclined to favour the all-powers view, but can't answer the question 'but what HAS these powers?' Stuff is intrinsically powerful.
Properties are both qualitative and dispositional - they are powerful qualities [Heil]
     Full Idea: In my account of properties they are at once qualitative and dispositional: properties are powerful qualities.
     From: John Heil (The Universe as We Find It [2012], 05.1)
     A reaction: I have never managed to understand what Heil means by 'qualities'. Is he talking about the phenomenal aspects of powers? Does he mean categorical properties. I can't find an ontological space for his things to slot into.