7961
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A 'thing' cannot be in two places at once, and two things cannot be in the same place at once [Macdonald,C]
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Full Idea:
The so-called 'laws of thinghood' govern particulars, saying that one thing cannot be wholly present at different places at the same time, and two things cannot occupy the same place at the same time.
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From:
Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.6)
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A reaction:
Is this an empirical observation, or a tautology? Or might it even be a priori synthetic? What happens when two water drops or clouds merge? Or an amoeba fissions? In what sense is an image in two places at once? Se also Idea 2351.
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7926
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We 'individuate' kinds of object, and 'identify' particular specimens [Macdonald,C]
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Full Idea:
We can usefully refer to 'individuation conditions', to distinguish objects of that kind from objects not of that kind, and to 'identity conditions', to distinguish objects within that kind from one another.
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From:
Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.2)
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A reaction:
So we individuate types or sets, and identify tokens or particulars. Sounds good. Should be in every philosopher's toolkit, and on every introductory philosophy course.
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7932
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A phenomenalist cannot distinguish substance from attribute, so must accept the bundle view [Macdonald,C]
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Full Idea:
Commitment to the view that only what can be an object of possible sensory experience can exist eliminates the possibility of distinguishing between substance and attribute, leaving only one alternative, namely the bundle view.
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From:
Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.3)
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A reaction:
Phenomenalism strikes me as a paradigm case of confusing ontology with epistemology. Presumably physicists (even empiricist ones) are committed to the 'interior' of quarks and electrons, but no one expects to experience them.
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7929
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A substance is either a bundle of properties, or a bare substratum, or an essence [Macdonald,C]
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Full Idea:
The three main theories of substance are the bundle theory (Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, Ayer), the bare substratum theory (Locke and Bergmann), and the essentialist theory.
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From:
Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.3)
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A reaction:
Macdonald defends the essentialist theory. The essentialist view immediately appeals to me. Properties must be OF something, and the something must have the power to produce properties. So there.
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7941
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Each substance contains a non-property, which is its substratum or bare particular [Macdonald,C]
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Full Idea:
A rival to the bundle theory says that, for each substance, there is a constituent of it that is not a property but is both essential and unique to it, this constituent being referred to as a 'bare particular' or 'substratum'.
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From:
Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.3)
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A reaction:
This doesn't sound promising. It is unclear what existence devoid of all properties could be like. How could it 'have' its properties if it was devoid of features (it seems to need property-hooks)? It is an ontological black hole. How do you prove it?
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7942
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The substratum theory explains the unity of substances, and their survival through change [Macdonald,C]
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Full Idea:
If there is a substratum or bare particular within a substance, this gives an explanation of the unity of substances, and it is something which can survive intact when a substance changes.
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From:
Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.3)
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A reaction:
[v. compressed wording] Many problems here. The one that strikes me is that when things change they sometimes lose their unity and identity, and that seems to be decided entirely from observation of properties, not from assessing the substratum.
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7943
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A substratum has the quality of being bare, and they are useless because indiscernible [Macdonald,C]
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Full Idea:
There seems to be no way of identifying a substratum as the bearer of qualities without qualifiying it as bare (having the property of being bare?), ..and they cannot be used to individuate things, because they are necessarily indiscernible.
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From:
Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.3)
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A reaction:
The defence would probably be a priori, claiming an axiomatic necessity for substrata in our thinking about the world, along with a denial that bareness is a property (any more than not being a contemporary of Napoleon is a property).
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7927
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At different times Leibniz articulated three different versions of his so-called Law [Macdonald,C]
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Full Idea:
There are three distinct versions of Leibniz's Law, all traced to remarks made by Leibniz: the Identity of Indiscernibles (same properties, same thing), the Indiscernibility of Identicals (same thing, same properties), and the Substitution Principle.
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From:
Cynthia Macdonald (Varieties of Things [2005], Ch.2)
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A reaction:
The best view seems to be to treat the second one as Leibniz's Law (and uncontroversially true), and the first one as being an interesting but dubious claim.
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