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Durham E-Theses The ontology of haecceities ZHANG, RUOYU How to cite: ZHANG, RUOYU (2019) The ontology of haecceities, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12963/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk The Ontology of Haecceities A Solution to the Problem of Distinction Ruoyu Zhang Submitted for the degree of Ph.D. in Philosophy Durham University Department of Philosophy October 2018 Short Thesis Abstract This thesis deals with the Problem of Distinction, i.e. what explains the distinction of two substances, especially when they are qualitatively indiscernible? It argues that the best solution to this problem is an ontology of haecceities, properties like “being identical with X” which is unique for X and responsible for its individuation. This is achieved in two steps. In the first half of the thesis (Chapters 2 to 5), the nature of the Problem of Distinction is clarified and Principles of Evaluations of the solution to the Problem of Distinction are set out. Then based on these Principles, the thesis argues against the main extant non- haecceity solutions to the Problem of Distinction including the Spacetime Points Solution, Bare Particularism, Trope Theory, and the Universal Bundle Theory. In the second half of the thesis (Chapters 6 to 9), it develops a novel ontology of haecceities. A Haecceity Mereology with three rules is proposed. According to this ontology, the reality is constituted by two fundamental kinds of properties, universals and haecceities. An individual substance is a special mereological sum of a haecceity and its correspondent universals. Hence, there are two distinct substances because of the distinction of two haecceities. Besides solving the Problem of Distinction, the ontology of haecceities also explains many other things such as the unity of substances. Further, we argue that, although our knowledge of substances is epistemically fallible, the relationship between a haecceity and its correspondent universals is metaphysically necessary. Word Count: 89,070 2 Statement of Copyright An article based on some of the material in Chapter 5, entitled “A New Universal Bundle Theory” has been published in Philosophia (2018) 46 (2): 473-486. This is an open access article. I am grateful to the editor for accepting it. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author’s prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. 3 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents for their unwavering support during the past few years. And I am extremely grateful to my supervisors, Matthew Tugby, Robin Hendry and Peter Vickers for their detailed and constructive advice on many things, from academic writing to philosophical thinking. Also, I would like to thank the Department of Philosophy in Durham for their invaluable help. I would also like to thank those who have inspired my project. They include Sir Antony Kenny, the late E. J. Lowe, Richard Swinburne, Penelope Mackie, and Min Xu; and the participants of various conferences and seminars in Asia and Europe, including Peter van Inwagen, Kit Fine, John Heil, Stephen Mumford, Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra, Benjamin Curtis, L. A. Paul, Sophie Gibb, and Xi-Yang Guo. Two friends of mine also deserve a mention, astrophysicist Jun Hou and anthropologist Boyang Zhou, for their insights from a non-metaphysical perspective. Finally, a sincere thank you to Benedict Young for his diligent proofreading. Ruoyu Zhang 4 Contents Short Thesis Abstract ............................................................................................................................2 Statement of Copyright .........................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................4 Chapter 1: Thesis Introduction ............................................................................................................8 Aims .........................................................................................................................................................8 General assumptions ................................................................................................................................9 Overview of the chapters .......................................................................................................................10 Issues not covered and future work…………………………………...………………………………17 Chapter 2: What is the Problem of Distinction? ...............................................................................20 1. The standard view: some cases are special....................................................................................20 2. The Problem of Distinction is not the Pairing Problem ................................................................22 2.1 The Pairing Problem.............................................................................................................22 2.2 The Problem of Distinction is not the Pairing Problem .......................................................23 3. Property-distinction does not help .................................................................................................24 3.1 How property-distinction is supposed to work ....................................................................24 3.2 Two types of property-distinction ........................................................................................26 3.3 The problems of using property-distinction to explain substance-distinction .....................27 4. Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................31 Chapter 3: A Classification of Solutions and Principles of Evaluation ..........................................33 (A) A Classification of Solutions 1. Some preliminary notes on the method .........................................................................................33 2. Classification in the literature ........................................................................................................35 2.1 Ontological and non-ontological solutions ..........................................................................35 2.2 Inspiration from PII ..............................................................................................................36 3. A better classification: The Positive and the Negative ..................................................................39 4. Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................44 Chapter 3: A Classification of Solutions and Principles of Evaluation ..........................................45 (B) Principles of Evaluation 1. Inference to the best explanation ...................................................................................................45 2. Principles of evaluation in the literature ........................................................................................46 3. The non-circular individuation principle upgraded .......................................................................49 4. Other principles .............................................................................................................................51 (a) The Indivisibility Principle...................................................................................................51 (b) The Generality Principle and Non-revenge Principle ..........................................................52 (c) The Priority Principle ...........................................................................................................54 5. Concluding remarks.......................................................................................................................56 Chapter 4: Against Three Positive Solutions ....................................................................................58 (A) Spacetime Points 1. Preliminary notes: Some theories of spacetime.............................................................................58 1.1 Dependence and individuation via spacetime ......................................................................59 1.2 Four possibilities within a two-category ontology framework ............................................60 2. Category, generality and revenge ..................................................................................................61 2.1 A distinct category from the spheres? ..................................................................................61