Against strong pluralism

Strong pluralists hold that not even permanent material coincidence is enough for identity. Strong pluralism entails the possibility of purely material objects -- even if not coincident -- alike in all general respects, categorial and dispositional, relational and non-relational, past, present and f...

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Main Author: Noonan, Harold W.
Format: Article
Published: Springer 2015
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35853/
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author Noonan, Harold W.
author_facet Noonan, Harold W.
author_sort Noonan, Harold W.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Strong pluralists hold that not even permanent material coincidence is enough for identity. Strong pluralism entails the possibility of purely material objects -- even if not coincident -- alike in all general respects, categorial and dispositional, relational and non-relational, past, present and future, at the microphysical level, but differing in some general modal, counterfactual or dispositional repscts at the macrophysical level. It is objectionable because it thus deprives us of the explanatory resources to explain why evident absurdities are absurd. A second objection is to the suggestion that cases involving artefacts can illustrate strong pluralism. This offends against the principle that gien a complex intrinsic microphysical property instantiated in some regiion, the number of material things possessing it in that region cannot depend on the existence and nature of intentional activity taking place outside it.
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spelling nottingham-358532020-05-04T17:15:07Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35853/ Against strong pluralism Noonan, Harold W. Strong pluralists hold that not even permanent material coincidence is enough for identity. Strong pluralism entails the possibility of purely material objects -- even if not coincident -- alike in all general respects, categorial and dispositional, relational and non-relational, past, present and future, at the microphysical level, but differing in some general modal, counterfactual or dispositional repscts at the macrophysical level. It is objectionable because it thus deprives us of the explanatory resources to explain why evident absurdities are absurd. A second objection is to the suggestion that cases involving artefacts can illustrate strong pluralism. This offends against the principle that gien a complex intrinsic microphysical property instantiated in some regiion, the number of material things possessing it in that region cannot depend on the existence and nature of intentional activity taking place outside it. Springer 2015-08-14 Article PeerReviewed Noonan, Harold W. (2015) Against strong pluralism. Philosophia, 43 (4). pp. 1081-1087. ISSN 1574-9274 Pluralism Coincidence Goliath and Lumplde re modality http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11406-015-9640-4 doi:10.1007/s11406-015-9640-4 doi:10.1007/s11406-015-9640-4
spellingShingle Pluralism
Coincidence
Goliath and Lumplde
re modality
Noonan, Harold W.
Against strong pluralism
title Against strong pluralism
title_full Against strong pluralism
title_fullStr Against strong pluralism
title_full_unstemmed Against strong pluralism
title_short Against strong pluralism
title_sort against strong pluralism
topic Pluralism
Coincidence
Goliath and Lumplde
re modality
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35853/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35853/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35853/