Dear all Monday's current projects will be Ben Blumsen to talk about The Ugly Duckling Theorem.
Abstract: The premises of the following argument are plausible, but its conclusion is absurd: (1) The number of (possible) predicates satisfied by two different particulars is a constant. (2) The number of (possible) predicates satisfied by two different particulars is the number of properties they have in common. (3) The degree of resemblance between two different particulars is a function of the number of properties they have in common. (4) Therefore, the degree of resemblance between two different particulars is a constant. Since the argument is valid and the conclusion is false, one of the premises must be rejected. But the first premise, dubbed by Satosi Watanabe the "theorem of the ugly duckling", is a theorem, so either the second premise must be rejected, by adopting a sparse conception of properties and denying that there is a property corresponding to every (possible) predicate, or the third premise must be rejected, by denying that degree of resemblance is a function of number of properties in common. In this paper, I discuss which of these options is the best resolution of the problem. As usual we will be in the common room from 1.00-2.30. Best Kristie Dr. Kristie Miller University of Sydney Senior Research Fellow School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry and The Centre for Time The University of Sydney Sydney Australia Room 407, A 14 [email protected] [email protected] Ph: +612 9036 9663 http://www.kristiemiller.net/KristieMiller2/Home_Page.html
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