Metaphysica

, Volume 14, Issue 1, pp 31–46 | Cite as

Nomological Resemblance

Article
First Online:
  • 621 Downloads

Abstract

Laws of nature concern the natural properties of things. Newton’s law of gravity states that the gravitational force between objects is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of their distance; Coulomb’s law states a similar functional dependency between charged particles. Each of these properties confers a power to act as specified by the function of the laws. Consequently, properties of the same quantity confer resembling powers. Any theory that takes powers seriously must account for their resemblance. This is the challenge set by the paper. The first part is devoted to Armstrong’s view according to which property resemblance reduces to partial identities between categorical properties. I argue that Armstrong’s solution to the challenge involves accepting determinable properties but that these should not be admitted. In the second part, I argue that dispositional essentialism can satisfactorily account for orderings among powers in terms of degrees of overlapping potentialities.

Keywords

Resemblance Categoricalism Dispositionalism Laws of nature Powers 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Armstrong, D. M (1978) A Theory of Universals, Vol. 2 of Universals and Scientific Realism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  2. Armstrong, D. M. (1983) What is a Law of Nature? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Armstrong, D. M. (1989) A Combinatorial Theory of Possibility, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Armstrong, D. M. (1991) “Arda Denkel’s Resemblance Nominalism”, Philosophical Quarterly, 41, pp. 478–482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Armstrong, D. M. (1997) A World of States of Affairs, Cambridge: Cambridge University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Bird, A. (1998) “Dispositions and Antidotes”, Philosophical Quarterly, 48, pp. 227–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Bird, A. (2007) Nature’s Metaphysics, Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Black, R. (2000) “Against Quidditism”, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 78, pp. 87–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Dretske, F (1977) “Laws of Nature”, Philosophy of Science, 44, pp. 248–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Eddon, M (2007) “Armstrong on Quantities and Resemblance”, Philosophical Studies, 136, pp. 385–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Ellis, B. (2005) “Universals, the Essential Problem and Categorical Properties”, Ratio, 18, pp. 462–472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Gibb, S. (2007) “Is the Partial Identity Account of Property Resemblance Logically Incoherent?”, dialectica, 61, pp. 539–558.Google Scholar
  13. Gillett, C and Rives, B. (2005) “The Non-Existence of Determinables: Or, a World of Absolute Determinates as Default Hypothesis”, Noûs, 39, pp. 483–504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Handfield, T (2005) “Armstrong and the Modal Inversion of Dispositions”, The Philosophical Quarterly, 55, pp. 452–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Hawthorne, J (2002) “Causal Structuralism” in James Tomberlin (ed.) Metaphysics, Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
  16. Johnston, M. (1992) “How to Speak of the Colours”, Philosophical Studies, 68, pp. 221–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Kim, J. (1993) Supervenience and Mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Kistler, M. (2002) “The Causal Criterion of Reality and the Necessity of Laws of Nature”, Metaphysica, 3, pp. 57–86.Google Scholar
  19. Lewis, D. (1973) Counterfactuals, Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
  20. Lowe, E.J. (2006) The Four-Category Ontology: A Metaphysical Foundation for Natural Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  21. Martin, C.B. (1994) “Dispositions and Conditionals”, Philosophical Quarterly, 44, pp. 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Molnar, G. (2003) Powers: A Study in Metaphysics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  23. Morganti, M. (2012) “The Partial Identity Account of Partial Similarity Revisited”, Philosophia, 39, pp. 527–546.Google Scholar
  24. Robinson, H. (1982) Matter and Sense. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Tooley, M. (1977) “The Nature of Laws”, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 7, pp. 667–698.Google Scholar
  26. Vetter, B. (2009) “Nature’s Metaphysics: Laws and Properties”, Logical Analysis and History of Philosophy, 12, pp. 320–328.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Lund UniversityLundSweden

Personalised recommendations