The Barest Flutter of the Smallest Leaf

Understanding Material Plenitude

Bibliographic Data

ID10695975
AuthorsMaegan Fairchild (0000-0001-6227-3459, University of Michigan, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume128
Issue2
Pages143-178
Publication date2019-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Philosophical Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8108 • E-ISSN: 1558-1470
PublisherDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1215/00318108-7374932
OpenAlexW2951844406
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited17

According to material plenitude, every material object coincides with an abundance of other material objects that differ in the properties they have essentially and accidentally. Although this kind of plenitude is becoming increasingly popular, it isn't clear how to make sense of the view beyond its slogan form. As I argue, it turns out to be extraordinarily difficult to do so: straightforward attempts are either inconsistent or fail to capture the target idea. Making progress requires us to engage in more delicate metaphysics than we might have expected and, along the way, reveals substantive constraints on the material world. In this article, I argue that any attempt to develop a coherent version of plenitude is subject to two under-appreciated challenges, and I develop a version of plenitude (global plenitude) capable of overcoming both

Epistemology · Linguistics · Metaphysics · Object (grammar) · Physics · Slogan · Subject (documents) · Theoretical physics · Computer Science · Embodied and Extended Cognition · Law · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · Philosophy and Theoretical Science

Tools

Open DOI