Making Objects and Events: A Hylomorphic Theory of Artifacts, Actions, and Organisms

285 Pages·2016·1.38 MB·English

by  Simon J. Evnine

OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 06/08/2016, SPi
Making Objects and Events
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 06/08/2016, SPi
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 06/08/2016, SPi
Making Objects and
Events
A Hylomorphic Theory of Artifacts,
Actions, and Organisms
Simon J. Evnine
1
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 06/08/2016, SPi
3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP,
United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship,
and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of
Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© Simon J. Evnine 2016
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First Edition published in 2016
Impression: 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted
by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics
rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the
above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015959279
ISBN 978–0–19–877967–4
Printed in Great Britain by
Clays Ltd, St Ives plc
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and
for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials
contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 06/08/2016, SPi
To Giovanna Pompele
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 06/08/2016, SPi
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 06/08/2016, SPi
Contents
Preface xi
1. Hylomorphism and its Related Metaphysics 1
1.1 Some Varieties of Hylomorphism 3
1.1.1 A sufficient but minimal condition for hylomorphism 3
1.1.2 Aristotelian hylomorphism 7
1.1.3 Principle-based hylomorphism 10
1.2 Amorphic Hylomorphism 12
1.2.1 A brief overview 12
1.2.2 The methodological priority of matter to complex object 13
1.2.3 The metabolic priority of a complex object to its matter 15
1.2.4 Artifacts 17
1.2.5 Historical ontology 19
1.2.6 Vagueness 21
1.3 Mereology 23
1.4 Three- and Four-Dimensionalism 27
2. Some Contemporary Varieties of Hylomorphism 32
2.1 Judith Thomson 32
2.1.1 An initial non-hylomorphic definition of constitution 32
2.1.2 A subsequent hylomorphic definition of constitution 37
2.2 Lynne Baker 42
2.2.1 Baker’s definition of constitution 43
2.2.2 Problems with Baker’s definition 44
2.3 Kit Fine 50
2.3.1 Qua objects and rigid embodiments 51
2.3.2 Variable embodiments 53
2.3.3 Ontological inflation 55
2.3.4 Which object is which? 56
2.3.5 Matter and parthood 57
2.3.6 Functions and extensionalism 59
2.3.7 Rules and artifacts 62
3. Artifacts: The Basic Metaphysics 66
3.1 Artifacts 66
3.2 Making and Making out of 70
3.2.1 The process of making 70
3.2.2 The matter relation and making out of 73
3.2.3 The grounding problem 78
3.3 Morphic Construals 82
3.3.1 A Marxist theory of artifacts 83
3.3.2 Qua objects and variable embodiments again 84
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 06/08/2016, SPi
viii Contents
3.4 Questions of Identity 85
3.4.1 Individual essence and the necessity of origin 86
3.4.2 Mass production 97
3.4.3 Individuation 103
3.4.4 Identity over time: the Ship of Theseus 106
3.5 Speaking and Thinking Things into Existence 110
3.5.1 Speaking or thinking into existence objects of a given kind 110
3.5.2 Making it the case that there are Ks 112
4. Artifacts: Functions, Artworks, and Abstract Artifacts 119
4.1 Functions, Intentions, and Prototypes 119
4.1.1 How do artifacts acquire their functions? 119
4.1.2 Failure 125
4.1.3 Do all artifacts have kind-dependent functions? 128
4.2 Thomson’s Artifact Thesis 129
4.3 Works of Art 133
4.4 Abstract Artifacts 136
4.4.1 Musical works 136
4.4.2 Fictional characters 139
4.4.3 Languages 145
5. Organisms 160
5.1 Organisms and Artifacts in Aristotle 161
5.2 An Artifactual Model of the Creation of Organisms in Sexual Reproduction 165
5.2.1 The agents in sexual reproduction 166
5.2.2 The matter in sexual reproduction 167
5.2.3 Identity conditions for organisms 171
5.3 Teleology 176
5.3.1 Functions of organism parts 177
5.3.2 Whole organisms 180
5.3.3 The (conditional) necessity of evolution 182
5.3.4 Animal artifacts 183
5.4 Organisms and Principle-Based Hylomorphism 185
6. Natural Non-Organic Objects 188
6.1 The Case for Rejection 189
6.1.1 The methodological priority of matter to hylomorphically
complex object 189
6.1.2 Spelke objects 191
6.1.3 The scope of the rejection 193
6.2 Arguments for NNOs 194
6.2.1 Universalism 195
6.2.2 Conceptualism 197
6.2.3 Ontological minimalism 199
6.3 Fictionalism 202
6.3.1 The view 202
6.3.2 The point of fictionalism about NNOs 204
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 06/08/2016, SPi
Contents ix
7. Actions as Artifacts 207
7.1 Some Metaphysical Preliminaries 208
7.1.1 Are actions events? 208
7.1.2 Hylomorphism for events 208
7.2 Actions and Artifacts: Preliminary Considerations 209
7.3 Hylomorphism in Existing Theories of Events and Actions 212
7.3.1 Kim’s views on events 212
7.3.2 Fine’s theory of action 214
7.3.3 Goldman and level-generation 216
7.3.4 Davidson and anti-hylomorphism about action 218
7.4 Actions as Artifacts 219
7.4.1 The role of intentions 219
7.4.2 Unintentional action 221
7.4.3 Basic action and bodily movements 225
7.5 Artifacts, Action, and Creativity 229
7.6 Actions: Individuation, Identity over Time, and Individual Essences 234
7.6.1 Individuation 234
7.6.2 Change over time 235
7.6.3 Individual essence: action type 237
7.6.4 Individual essence: originating intention 243
7.6.5 The essentiality of times to events 247
7.7 Expression and Mass Production 249
7.7.1 Expressive versus instrumental actions 249
7.7.2 Mass production and action 250
Conclusion 253
Bibliography 255
Index 265