Combining Texts

All the ideas for 'A Universe from Nothing', 'How Things Might Have Been' and 'Letter to Pythocles'

expand these ideas     |    start again     |     specify just one area for these texts

30 ideas

7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 2. Reduction
21110 An understanding of the most basic physics should explain all of the subject's mysteries [Krauss]
7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 6. Fundamentals / c. Monads
21105 In 1676 it was discovered that water is teeming with life [Krauss]
9. Objects / A. Existence of Objects / 5. Individuation / a. Individuation
11897 A principle of individuation may pinpoint identity and distinctness, now and over time [Mackie,P]
11898 Individuation may include counterfactual possibilities, as well as identity and persistence [Mackie,P]
9. Objects / A. Existence of Objects / 5. Individuation / d. Individuation by haecceity
11883 A haecceity is the essential, simple, unanalysable property of being-this-thing [Mackie,P]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 1. Essences of Objects
11889 Essentialism must avoid both reduplication of essences, and multiple occupancy by essences [Mackie,P]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 3. Individual Essences
11877 An individual essence is the properties the object could not exist without [Mackie,P]
11882 No other object can possibly have the same individual essence as some object [Mackie,P]
11886 There are problems both with individual essences and without them [Mackie,P]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 5. Essence as Kind
11909 Unlike Hesperus=Phosophorus, water=H2O needs further premisses before it is necessary [Mackie,P]
11899 Why are any sortals essential, and why are only some of them essential? [Mackie,P]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 8. Essence as Explanatory
11906 The Kripke and Putnam view of kinds makes them explanatorily basic, but has modal implications [Mackie,P]
9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 12. Origin as Essential
11894 Origin is not a necessity, it is just 'tenacious'; we keep it fixed in counterfactual discussions [Mackie,P]
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 3. Transworld Objects / a. Transworld identity
11887 Transworld identity without individual essences leads to 'bare identities' [Mackie,P]
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 3. Transworld Objects / c. Counterparts
11890 De re modality without bare identities or individual essence needs counterparts [Mackie,P]
11892 Things may only be counterparts under some particular relation [Mackie,P]
11893 Possibilities for Caesar must be based on some phase of the real Caesar [Mackie,P]
10. Modality / E. Possible worlds / 3. Transworld Objects / d. Haecceitism
11884 The theory of 'haecceitism' does not need commitment to individual haecceities [Mackie,P]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 2. Types of Explanation / k. Explanations by essence
11905 Locke's kind essences are explanatory, without being necessary to the kind [Mackie,P]
14. Science / D. Explanation / 3. Best Explanation / c. Against best explanation
21386 We should accept as explanations all the plausible ways in which something could come about [Epicurus]
26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 6. Necessity of Kinds
11907 Maybe the identity of kinds is necessary, but instances being of that kind is not [Mackie,P]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 1. Relativity / a. Special relativity
21109 Space itself can expand (and separate its contents) at faster than light speeds [Krauss]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 1. Relativity / b. General relativity
21104 General Relativity: the density of energy and matter determines curvature and gravity [Krauss]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 2. Electrodynamics / d. Quantum mechanics
21107 Uncertainty says that energy can be very high over very short time periods [Krauss]
27. Natural Reality / B. Modern Physics / 4. Standard Model / e. Protons
21106 Most of the mass of a proton is the energy in virtual particles (rather than the quarks) [Krauss]
27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 2. Space
21112 Empty space contains a continual flux of brief virtual particles [Krauss]
27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 1. Cosmology
14051 A cosmos is a collection of stars and an earth, with some sort of boundary, movement and shape [Epicurus]
27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 3. The Beginning
21108 The universe is precisely 13.72 billion years old [Krauss]
27. Natural Reality / E. Cosmology / 10. Multiverse
21111 It seems likely that cosmic inflation is eternal, and this would make a multiverse inevitable [Krauss]
28. God / C. Attitudes to God / 3. Deism
1828 God does not intervene in heavenly movements, but is beyond all action and perfectly happy [Epicurus]