In defence of utterly indiscernible entities

Philosophical Studies 176 (10):2551-2561 (2019)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Are there entities which are just distinct, with no discerning property or relation? Although the existence of such utterly indiscernible entities is ensured by mathematical and scientific practice, their legitimacy faces important philosophical challenges. I will discuss the most fundamental objections that have been levelled against utter indiscernibles, argue for the inadequacy of the extant arguments to allay perplexity about them, and put forward a novel defence of these entities against those objections.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 101,880

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

In defence of indispensability.Mark Colyvan - 1998 - Philosophia Mathematica 6 (1):39-62.
Platonism and the 'Epistemic Role Puzzle'.Mark McEvoy - 2012 - Philosophia Mathematica 20 (3):289-304.
Indispensability argument and anti-realism in philosophy of mathematics.Y. E. Feng - 2007 - Frontiers of Philosophy in China 2 (4):614-628.
Indiscernibility Does Not Distinguish Particularity.Daniel Giberman - 2016 - Thought: A Journal of Philosophy 5 (4):249-256.
The mind-body problem and Quine's repudiation theory.Nathan Stemmer - 2001 - Behavior and Philosophy 29:187-202.
Indiscernible universals.Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra - 2017 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 60 (6):604-624.

Analytics

Added to PP
2018-07-12

Downloads
86 (#246,413)

6 months
4 (#1,288,968)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Bahram Assadian
University of Leeds

References found in this work

What numbers could not be.Paul Benacerraf - 1965 - Philosophical Review 74 (1):47-73.
Philosophy of Mathematics: Structure and Ontology.Stewart Shapiro - 1997 - Oxford, England: Oxford University Press USA.
The identity of indiscernibles.Max Black - 1952 - Mind 61 (242):153-164.
Philosophy and Model Theory.Tim Button & Sean P. Walsh - 2018 - Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Edited by Sean Walsh & Wilfrid Hodges.
Philosophy of Mathematics: Structure and Ontology.Stewart Shapiro - 2000 - Philosophical Quarterly 50 (198):120-123.

View all 25 references / Add more references