Sortal concepts and modality

Mackie, Penelope (2013) Sortal concepts and modality. Working Paper. University of Nottingham, Nottingham. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

What is the modal significance of sortal concepts? It is generally accepted that sortal concepts provide persistence conditions with modal implications that are de re, and not merely de dicto. I do not think that this important assumption has received the scrutiny that it deserves. In this paper, I examine the contrast between a ‘pure de dicto’ theory of the persistence conditions associated with sortal concepts and a variety of de re theories, both essentialist and non-essentialist. I conclude that although there is a defensible argument against the pure de dicto theory, it has two interesting implications. First, the argument lends no support to an essentialist version of the de re theory. Secondly, it appears to support the rejection of the pure de dicto theory only by a theorist who is also a pluralist about coincidence. Hence it appears to provide no justification for the rejection of the pure de dicto theory on the part of a contingent identity theorist.

Item Type: Monograph (Working Paper)
RIS ID: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1004854
Keywords: sortals, persistence, essentialism, de re modality, coincidence
Schools/Departments: University of Nottingham, UK > Faculty of Arts > School of Humanities > Department of Philosophy
Depositing User: Mackie, Dr Penelope
Date Deposited: 25 Sep 2013 12:06
Last Modified: 04 May 2020 20:20
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/2170

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