Abstract
One of the advantages of my account in the essay “Instantiation as Partial Identity” was capturing the contingency of instantiation—something David Armstrong gave up in his experiment with a similar view. What made the contingency possible for me was my own non-standard account of identity, complete with the apparatus of counts and aspects. The need remains to lift some obscurity from the account in order to display its virtues to greater advantage. To that end, I propose to respond to those who have grappled with it in print. There are various criticisms by commentators: that it is rendered absurd by the transitivity of identity, that it makes instantiation necessary instead of contingent, that it is unclear what counts are, that aspects are simply tropes, that my view does not capture multiple location, that I make an unclear reference to a theory of composition as identity, that the account suffers from problems with polyadicity, and that it is not a realist account of universals after all. I give responses to these objections.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
I have often repented my early use of the terminology of “strict and philosophical” and “loose and popular” to mean “fine-grained” and “coarse-grained” (Baxter 1988). I here use it properly to mean “accurate” and “inaccurate but convenient.”.
I’m also grateful to Toby Napoletano for research assistance.
References
Armstrong DM (2004a) How do particulars stand to universals? In: Zimmerman Dean (ed) Oxford studies in metaphysics, vol 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 139–154
Armstrong DM (2004b) Truth and truthmakers. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Armstrong DM (2005a) Four disputes about properties. Synthese 144:309–320
Armstrong DM (2005b) Reply to Simons and Mumford. Australas J Philos 83:271–276
Armstrong DM (2006) Particulars have their properties of necessity. In: Strawson PF, Chakrabarti A (eds) Universals, concepts, and qualities. Ashgate, London
Aune Bruce (2009) An empiricist theory of knowledge. Bowler Books, Montague
Baxter Donald LM (1988) Identity in the loose and popular sense. Mind 97:575–582
Baxter Donald LM (2001) Instantiation as partial identity. Australas J Philos 79:449–464
Bradley FH (1893) On professor James’ doctrine of simple resemblance. Mind 2:83–88
Descartes R (1931) Reply to objections iv. In: Ross GRT, Haldane ES (eds) The philosophical works of Descartes, vol 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Duns Scotus J (2006) Qualified and unqualified distinctions (from additiones magnae I, d.33, q.2). In: Bosley RN, Tweedale MM (eds) Basic issues in medieval philosophy, 2nd edn. Broadview Press, Peterborough
Forrest P (2006) The operator theory of instantiation. Australas J Philos 84:213–228
Hume D (2007) In: Norton DF, Norton MJ (eds) A treatise of human nature, vol 1. Clarendon Press, Oxford
Joahnsson Ingvar (2009) Proof of the existence of universals–and Roman Ingarden’s ontology. Metaphysica 10:65–87
Keller P (2007) A world of truthmakers. In: Monnoyer J-M (ed) Metaphysics and truthmakers
Lewis D (1991) Parts of classes. Basil Blackwell, Oxford
Locke J (1975) In: Nidditch PH (ed) An essay concerning human understanding. Clarendon Press, Oxford
Mantegani N (2011) Instantiation is not partial identity. Philosophical studies. doi:10.1007/s11098-011-9840-0
Martin CB (1980) Substance substantiated. Australas J Philos 58:3–10
Monaghan PX (2011) Property possession as identity: an essay in metaphysics. Frankfurt, Ontos Verlag
Sider T (2007) Parthood. Philos Rev 116:51–91
Simons D (2005) Negatives, numbers, and necessity some worries about Armstrong’s version of truthmaking. Australas J Philos 83:253–261
Underwood I (2010) Cross-count identity, distinctness, and the theory of internal and external relations. Philos Stud 151:265–283
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baxter, D.L.M. Instantiation as Partial Identity: Replies to Critics. Axiomathes 23, 291–299 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10516-013-9212-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10516-013-9212-9