Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'Scientific Thought', 'Survival and Identity, with postscript' and 'On Simple Theories of a Complex World'

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8 ideas

9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 4. Four-Dimensionalism
14759 A thing is simply a long event, linked by qualities, and spatio-temporal unity [Broad]
11842 If short-lived happenings like car crashes are 'events', why not long-lived events like Dover Cliffs? [Broad]
10. Modality / A. Necessity / 4. De re / De dicto modality
16079 De re modal predicates are ambiguous [Lewis, by Rudder Baker]
14. Science / B. Scientific Theories / 1. Scientific Theory
21687 It seems obvious to prefer the simpler of two theories, on grounds of beauty and convenience [Quine]
21688 There are four suspicious reasons why we prefer simpler theories [Quine]
27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 1. Nature of Time / g. Growing block
8160 The present and past exist, but the future does not [Broad, by Dummett]
14609 We could say present and past exist, but not future, so that each event adds to the total history [Broad]
27. Natural Reality / D. Time / 2. Passage of Time / d. Time series
22933 We imagine the present as a spotlight, moving across events from past to future [Broad]