Individuals： An Essay in Revisionary Metaphysics

Title: Individuals: an essay in revisionary metaphysics
Author: Shamik Dasgupta
DOI: 10.1007/s11098-009-9390-x

In our perception, the material world is commonly believed to consist of numerous individual entities. These entities, like personal belongings such as laptops and the particles they are made of, are described as possessing properties and being interconnected in various ways within our understanding of the material world. In this paper, the author argues that, fundamentally, there are no actual material individuals. Instead, they propose and support a perspective on the material world devoid of individuals, termed “generalism.”

• Notes:

  • The author clarifies that the focus of the paper is limited to the structure of the material world and does not delve into concepts like god or consciousness.
  • The term “dangler” is used for things that are considered physically redundant and cannot be empirically proven, similar to absolute velocity.
  • The concept of individual is also categorized as a “dangler” as it is not found in mechanics, relativity, or electromagnetism.

• Desired Understanding:

  • Artificial language context
  • Language Based on the Assumption of Shared Subjective Reality

• Overview:

  • Section 1: Critique of individualism as a “dangler”
  • Section 2: Critique of bundlism
  • Section 3: Introduction of generalism as an alternative viewpoint

The discussion primarily revolves around the “structure of the material world.”

Section 1: Critique of individualism as a “dangler”

• This section partly discusses the concept of velocity.

• The author argues that under certain laws, if two closed systems differ only in absolute velocity at an initial time but are identical in all other aspects, they will remain the same in those respects at all subsequent times.

• This applies to individualistic facts as well, where the behavior of objects remains unaffected by individualistic distinctions like names.

• The distinction between individualistic facts and general facts is discussed, emphasizing the use of predicate logic to talk about the existence of something without specifying details.

• The discussion also touches upon the inability to create devices to measure individual facts.

• Key Point: The author suggests that if certain aspects, like absolute velocity, are considered “danglers,” it should prompt skepticism about their reality. Therefore, the author argues that similar skepticism should be applied to the existence of primitive individuals.

• Question Raised: What does it mean to doubt reality? Why should skepticism arise if something is considered a “dangler”?

• Argument: If two theories about the material world are compared, and one implies the existence of a “dangler” while the other does not, it is rational to prefer the latter due to its simplicity, aligning with the principle of Occam’s Razor.

By exploring these concepts, the paper challenges conventional beliefs in physics and philosophy, advocating for a more streamlined approach to understanding the material world.