Full Idea
Is the concept of identity simply inapplicable to unactualized possibles? But what sense can be found in talking of entities which cannot meaningfully be said to be identical with themselve and distinct from one another.
Gist of Idea
Can an unactualized possible have self-identity, and be distinct from other possibles?
Source
Willard Quine (On What There Is [1948], p.4)
Book Reference
Quine,Willard: 'From a Logical Point of View' [Harper and Row 1963], p.4
A Reaction
Can he seriously mean that we are not allowed to talk about possible objects? If I design a house, it is presumably identical to the house I am designing, and distinct from houses I'm not designing.