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DISPOSITIONS, PRIMITIVE ACTIVITIES, AND ESSENTIALLY ACTIVE OBJECTS
Author(s) -
DUMSDAY TRAVIS
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
pacific philosophical quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.914
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1468-0114
pISSN - 0279-0750
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0114.2011.01415.x
Subject(s) - essentialism , object (grammar) , epistemology , natural (archaeology) , ontology , natural kind , philosophy , sociology , identity (music) , aesthetics , linguistics , history , archaeology
The question of whether there could be a physical object that is necessarily constantly active has a long history, and it has recently arisen again in the literature on dispositions. I examine and critique two proposals for affirming the possibility of such an object. I then advocate a third option, one which is workable if paired with natural‐kind essentialism. Finally I briefly outline three possible implications of this view for wider debates concerning the ontology of dispositions and natural kinds.