Realization Reductios, and Category Inclusion

Journal of Philosophy 107 (4):213-219 (2010)
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Abstract

Thomas Polger and Laurence Shapiro argue that Carl Gillett's much publicized dimensioned theory of realization is incoherent, being subject to a reductio. Their argument turns on the fact that Gillett's definition of realization makes property instances the exclusive relata of the realization relation, while his belief in multiple realization implies its denial, namely, that properties are the relata of the realization relation on occasions of multiple realization. Others like Sydney Shoemaker have also expressed their view of realization in terms of property instances, yet they too have accepted the multiple realizability of properties. Thus I am interested in the more general issue raised by Polger and Shapiro's argument. Specifically, I show how to supplement a theory of realization with a category-inclusive auxiliary assumption, which avoids the stated reductio. I then offer a few reasons to justify the proposed category-inclusive view of realization, making some comparisons to supervenience and causation along the way.

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Author's Profile

Ronald Endicott
North Carolina State University

References found in this work

Actions, Reasons, and Causes.Donald Davidson - 1963 - Journal of Philosophy 60 (23):685.
Epiphenomenal and supervenient causation.Jaegwon Kim - 1984 - Midwest Studies in Philosophy 9 (1):257-70.
Essentialism, mental properties, and causation.Frank Jackson - 1995 - Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 95:253-268.
Philosophical materialism.Colin McGinn - 1980 - Synthese 44 (2):173-206.

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