Full Idea
An object has the essential properties it has in virtue of being the kind of object it is.
Gist of Idea
Objects have their essential properties because of the kind of objects they are
Source
Peter Simons (Parts [1987], 7.1)
Book Reference
Simons,Peter: 'Parts: a Study in Ontology' [OUP 1987], p.261
A Reaction
He attributes this to Husserl and Wiggins. I just don't get it. What makes something the 'kind of object it is'? They've got it the wrong way round. Does God announce that this thing is a tiger, and is then pleasantly surprised to discover its stripes?