Notes
For me, Bitbol (2007) drove the last nail into the coffin of my earlier view; see also French and Krause (192–193, 355–373).
Quine’s and Simon Saunders’ points about relations are similar. If an asymmetric relational predicate, or a symmetric irreflexive one, is instantiated at all then there are at least two things. Saunders’ term “weakly discernible” does not seem apt: we have here a way to show that logically, things can be distinct without being discernible, by an argument that does not appeal to PII but to its innocuous converse. Hence I do not consider the PII saved or satisfied even in the case of fermions by reflections on ‘weak discernability’, contrary to Muller and Saunders (2008), despite the impressively nuanced distinctions they make.
In correspondence with de Volker; I am relying here on Jauernig (2004), and am additionally in her debt for correspondence and for partial drafts of her book in progress, from all of which I have greatly benefitted.
We wish to thank Marisa Dalla Chiara and John Stachel for very helpful comments on a draft version. Laura Crosilla’s research supported by EPSRC grant EP/G029520/1.
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Howard, D., van Fraassen, B.C., Bueno, O. et al. The physics and metaphysics of identity and individuality. Metascience 20, 225–251 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11016-010-9463-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11016-010-9463-7