CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2009
| Author | Malec, Maja |
|---|---|
| Title | The Essential/Accidental Distinction in Contemporary Metaphysics: The Modal and Definitional Characterizations |
| Summary | The topic of the dissertation is contemporary metaphysical essentialism, more specifically, the characterization of the distinction between the essential and accidental properties of objects. Intuitively, the essential properties of an object are those that make it the object that it is; in other words, they are the conditions of its identity. The prevalent characterization is the modal one according to which the essential properties of an object are simply its necessary properties, and the accidental properties are its contingent properties. Essence is thus understood as a special case of the de re metaphysical necessity and the essential/accidental property distinction is usually further analysed in terms of possible worlds. The problem with this standard account is that it does not distinguish between the conditions of x’s identity and the consequences of its identity, thus counting as essential also such trivial properties as being self-identical, being such that red if red, and so on, that we clearly do not consider to be essential. According to Kit Fine, this problem cannot be solved simply by some technical refinement of the characterization, and is rather a sign of an inherent flaw of the modal approach to essence. Consequently, Fine argues for the rejection of the modal approach to essence and the essential/accidental property distinction and proposes the definitional account instead. According to this, essence cannot be analysed in fundamentally different terms, but only stated in the real definition. My main aim is to ascertain which of the two accounts – the modal or the definitional one – better characterizes the essential/accidental property distinction. |
| Supervisor | Huoranszki, Ferenc |
| Department | Philosophy PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2009/fphmam01.pdf |
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