Shalkowski, SA (2020) Essence and Nominalism. In: Dumitru, M, (ed.) Metaphysics, Meaning, and Modality: Themes from Kit Fine. Oxford University Press , Oxford, UK , pp. 113-140. ISBN 9780199652624
Abstract
This chapter evaluates six proposals essentialists might put forward in response to Quine’s challenge, viz., to provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the crossworld identity of individuals: (i) an object’s qualitative character; (ii) matter; (iii) origins; (iv) haecceities; (v) “world-indexed properties”; and (iv) individual forms. It is argued that the first three candidates fail to provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the crossworld identity of individuals, while the fourth and fifth criteria arguably do not succeed in meeting Quine’s demand in an explanatorily adequate fashion. On balance, the sixth option, individual forms, therefore deserves to be taken very seriously as a possible response to Quine’s challenge, especially by neo-Aristotelians. Individual forms, moreover, have other explanatory virtues; in particular, they are more likely than their closest competitors to contribute to an explanation of how an object’s de re modal profile follows from facts about its essence.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of a book chapter published in Metaphysics, Meaning, and Modality: Themes from Kit Fine. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | essence, crossworld identity, matter, form, haecceities, world-indexed properties, indiscernibility, de re modality, Quine |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > School of Philosophy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 19 Jun 2017 13:04 |
Last Modified: | 23 Feb 2023 16:48 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/oso/9780199652624.003.0007 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:117842 |