The permeability of causal criteria of identity for universals

Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 83 (1):16–37 (2002)
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Abstract

To analyze the concept of a human merely in terms of the concept of a primate is to let all kinds of monkeys and apes into a category reserved for humans. Criteria of identity for universal attributes formulated merely in terms of causal roles associated with universals involve a similar permeability, since they cannot distinguish universals from non‐universal attributes. Without appealing to the existence of noncausal universals or resorting to charges of circularity, I will show that causal criteria of identity for universals are insufficiently informative because they cannot capture a distinctive feature of universals.

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James Michael Durham
Wayne State University

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