Combining Texts

Ideas for 'Unconscious Cerebral Initiative', 'Empiricism, Semantics and Ontology' and 'Thinking About Logic'

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2 ideas

9. Objects / A. Existence of Objects / 5. Individuation / d. Individuation by haecceity
A haecceity is a set of individual properties, essential to each thing [Read]
     Full Idea: The haecceitist (a neologism coined by Duns Scotus, pronounced 'hex-ee-it-ist', meaning literally 'thisness') believes that each thing has an individual essence, a set of properties which are essential to it.
     From: Stephen Read (Thinking About Logic [1995], Ch.4)
     A reaction: This seems to be a difference of opinion over whether a haecceity is a set of essential properties, or a bare particular. The key point is that it is unique to each entity.
9. Objects / A. Existence of Objects / 6. Nihilism about Objects
We only accept 'things' within a language with formation, testing and acceptance rules [Carnap]
     Full Idea: To accept the thing world means nothing more than to accept a certain form of language, in other words, to accept rules for forming statements and for testing, accepting, or rejecting them.
     From: Rudolph Carnap (Empiricism, Semantics and Ontology [1950], 2)
     A reaction: If you derive your metaphysics from your language, then objects are linguistic conventions. But why do we accept conventions about objects?