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4 ideas
14542 | If statue and clay fall and crush someone, the event is not overdetermined [Mumford/Anjum] |
Full Idea: If both the statue and the clay fall on someone and crush them to death, we would not say that the death is overdetermined. | |
From: S.Mumford/R.Lill Anjum (Getting Causes from Powers [2011], 2.7) | |
A reaction: I don't need many reasons to give up the idea that the statue and the clay are two objects, but this will do nicely as one of them. |
14535 | Pandispositionalists say structures are clusters of causal powers [Mumford/Anjum] |
Full Idea: A pandispositionalist has to defend the view that even a property such as sphericity is in reality a cluster of causal powers. | |
From: S.Mumford/R.Lill Anjum (Getting Causes from Powers [2011], 1.1) | |
A reaction: Is sphericity even a 'property'? I think 'feature' might be the best word for it. 'Quality' is quite good, but is too suggestive of qualia and secondary qualities. 'Mode' is not bad. Things have 'modes of existence' and 'powers'? Powers create modes. |
13129 | Essential kinds may be too specific to provide ontological categories [Westerhoff] |
Full Idea: Essential kinds can be very specific, and arguably too specific for the purposes of ontological categories. | |
From: Jan Westerhoff (Ontological Categories [2005], §27) | |
A reaction: Interesting. There doesn't seem to be any precise guideline as to how specific an essential kind might be. In scientific essentialism, each of the isotopes of tin has a distinct essence, but why should they not be categories |
14561 | Perdurantism imposes no order on temporal parts, so sequences of events are contingent [Mumford/Anjum] |
Full Idea: Perdurantism tends to go with the view that it is essentially contingent what follows what, because it is no part of the essence of temporal parts that they be arranged in any particular order. | |
From: S.Mumford/R.Lill Anjum (Getting Causes from Powers [2011], 5.5 1) | |
A reaction: Nice. There is nothing illogical, then, in elderly me intervening between childish me and middle-aged me. Essentialists like me must clearly oppose this view. Elderly me must be preceded and caused by middle-aged me. |