tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post2061254855356031116..comments2024-03-27T20:37:09.185-05:00Comments on Alexander Pruss's Blog: Two metaphysical convictionsAlexander R Prusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-88671995148280634232011-05-02T16:50:28.669-05:002011-05-02T16:50:28.669-05:00How does one ground the substantial nature of huma...How does one ground the substantial nature of human persons pace reductionist claims that attempt to eliminate the meaningfulness of "person-hood" in by swapping classically vague notions about properties of persons for empirical facts about the separate phenomena that comprise our notion of person-hood (i.e. "I" is the confluence of sensory responses and memory, among other things)rigelroverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04273671272009872862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-63008123371207829242011-05-02T16:34:35.666-05:002011-05-02T16:34:35.666-05:00It is more likely that I misunderstood your semant...It is more likely that I misunderstood your semantics of "vagueness".<br /><br />Do you mean ontological vagueness in the sense that there are concrete "things" and not merely "processes" at a fundamental level, or do you mean epistemic vagueness in the sense that distinct truths about fundamental fact-atoms is potentially knowable? <br /><br />Both occur to me to have metaphysical implications, but the second seems to be in an equivalence class with most versions of the PSR.<br /><br />I am guessing that you probably meant something at least subtly different altogether, though, because I would think if anyone know that a metaphysical notion was in line with the PSR it would be someone who wrote the book on it.rigelroverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04273671272009872862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-37479823530344936782011-05-02T16:18:33.876-05:002011-05-02T16:18:33.876-05:00I don't see how the vagueness stuff is that cl...I don't see how the vagueness stuff is that closely related to PSR, but I would be interested to learn more on that.<br /><br />Other fundamental substances? Well, the kind of substance I am is an animal. So that gives me good reason to think that all animals are fundamental substances. Maybe all living things are fundamental substances, in fact. Plus, there may be fundamental particles or fundamental fields. I don't know. As Leibniz did, epistemically I start with us as a paradigm of substantiality, and then go from there--whatever is sufficiently similar to us is probably substantial. <br /><br />The basic intuition is compatible with the existence of non-substantial entities, like proper parts, accidents, modes, properties, etc.Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-11901152471624632742011-05-02T16:09:44.868-05:002011-05-02T16:09:44.868-05:00Is your conviction about vagueness an epistemicall...Is your conviction about vagueness an epistemically cheaper version of the PSR?rigelroverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04273671272009872862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-89081229859868948562011-05-02T16:08:24.945-05:002011-05-02T16:08:24.945-05:00What are the other fundamental substances, then......What are the other fundamental substances, then... and are they in a class that is in any way relative to that of human substances?<br /><br />Are other entities that are composed of human substance?<br /><br />Isn't their a difference between "entity" and "substance"?rigelroverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04273671272009872862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-52547601211935014042011-04-27T23:23:01.466-05:002011-04-27T23:23:01.466-05:00I need to disagree with Aristotle on that. :-)I need to disagree with Aristotle on that. :-)Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-86443820360561504402011-04-27T22:49:48.557-05:002011-04-27T22:49:48.557-05:00That strikes me as wildly counter-intuitive. Also,...That strikes me as wildly counter-intuitive. Also, doesn't that conflict with a broadly Aristotelian notion of an animal? That is, doesn't Aristotle consider the genus "animal" to be a subgenus of the genus "body"?Derrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09689851181838321664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-43068010835547511842011-04-27T15:58:45.788-05:002011-04-27T15:58:45.788-05:00I tend to have these two convictions as well.
Yo...I tend to have these two convictions as well. <br />You mention that some people take there to be a tension between the two (I am assuming you have something in regards to Mary Ann Warren's comments that 'person' is a vague concept, and so it is vague when you or I come into existence). Is this something like what you have in mind, that some take our identity conditions to be vague?<br /><br /><b>Granting</b> your (and my) two metaphysical convictions, they seem to entail that our existence and identity conditions are not vague. It just follows that we need to give up the 'intuitive' idea (according to some) that you can't be a single cell, or something along those lines. Something which I think we have good reason to give up anyway. <br /><br />In short, I don't think there is tension between the two convictions provided we reject what some take to be an intuitive truth.<br /><br />[But you might have some other tension in mind..if so please elaborate.]Andrew Jaegerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06478566939092309059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-60935506003431051542011-04-27T15:53:55.340-05:002011-04-27T15:53:55.340-05:00Many animals can survive the loss of their tail. ...Many animals can survive the loss of their tail. Some animals can survive the loss of all of their matter.Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-54916599261933159242011-04-27T14:56:31.637-05:002011-04-27T14:56:31.637-05:00How does the claim that all persons are animals ji...How does the claim that all persons are animals jive with the claim that people can exist apart from matter (which I assume you accept)? It seems as if all animals are material objects.Derrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09689851181838321664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-75872531798920095922011-04-27T14:49:24.954-05:002011-04-27T14:49:24.954-05:00All human persons are animals.All human persons are animals.Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-24954498751241440822011-04-27T13:42:09.593-05:002011-04-27T13:42:09.593-05:00By humans do you mean persons or Homo sapiens?By humans do you mean persons or Homo sapiens?Sarraclabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14302108054267053039noreply@blogger.com