Objects and Identity

An Examination of the Relative Identity Thesis and Its Consequences

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Epistemology
Cover of the book Objects and Identity by Harold W. Noonan, Springer Netherlands
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Harold W. Noonan ISBN: 9789401724661
Publisher: Springer Netherlands Publication: March 9, 2013
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author: Harold W. Noonan
ISBN: 9789401724661
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Publication: March 9, 2013
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

Identity has for long been an important concept in philosophy and logic. Plato in his Sophist puts same among those fonns which "run through" all others. The scholastics inherited the idea (and the tenninology), classifying same as one of the "transcendentals", i.e. as running through all the categories. The work of Locke and l.eibniz made the concept a problematic one. But it is rather recently, i.e. since the importance of Frege has been generally recognized, that there has been a keen interest in the notion, fonnulated by him, of a criterion of identity. This, at first sight harmless as well as useful, has proved to be like a charge of dynamite. The seed had indeed been sown long ago, by Euclid. In Book V of his Elements he first gives a useless defmition of a ratio: "A ratio is a sort of relation between two magnitudes in respect of muchness". But then, in definition 5 he answers, not the question "What is a ratio?" but rather ''What is it for magnitudes to be in the same ratio?" and this is the definition that does the work.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Identity has for long been an important concept in philosophy and logic. Plato in his Sophist puts same among those fonns which "run through" all others. The scholastics inherited the idea (and the tenninology), classifying same as one of the "transcendentals", i.e. as running through all the categories. The work of Locke and l.eibniz made the concept a problematic one. But it is rather recently, i.e. since the importance of Frege has been generally recognized, that there has been a keen interest in the notion, fonnulated by him, of a criterion of identity. This, at first sight harmless as well as useful, has proved to be like a charge of dynamite. The seed had indeed been sown long ago, by Euclid. In Book V of his Elements he first gives a useless defmition of a ratio: "A ratio is a sort of relation between two magnitudes in respect of muchness". But then, in definition 5 he answers, not the question "What is a ratio?" but rather ''What is it for magnitudes to be in the same ratio?" and this is the definition that does the work.

More books from Springer Netherlands

Cover of the book Perspectives in Primary Education by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Ecological Genomics by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Mathematical Intuition by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Regional Hydrological Response to Climate Change by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Databases for Cardiology by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Water Resources Management Sustaining Socio-Economic Welfare by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Deep-Water Fisheries of the North Atlantic Oceanic Slope by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Truth in Science, the Humanities and Religion by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Immunisation by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Physicians of Western Medicine by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Cyclodextrins in Pharmacy by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book German Sentence Processing by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Faculty Development in the Health Professions by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book All-Embracing Manufacturing by Harold W. Noonan
Cover of the book Microbial Growth on C1 Compounds by Harold W. Noonan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy