How to be a Realist about Similarity: Towards a Theory of Features in Object-Oriented Philosophy
This essay calls for an independent theory of features in object-oriented philosophy. Theories of features are in general motivated by at least two interconnected demands: 1) to explain why objects have the characteristics they have, 2) to explain how regular divisions in those characteristics can b...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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De Gruyter
2018-11-01
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| Series: | Open Philosophy |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/opphil-2018-0024 |
| _version_ | 1819128213526282240 |
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| author | Roderick Noah |
| author_facet | Roderick Noah |
| author_sort | Roderick Noah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This essay calls for an independent theory of features in object-oriented philosophy. Theories of features are in general motivated by at least two interconnected demands: 1) to explain why objects have the characteristics they have, 2) to explain how regular divisions in those characteristics can be intuited. While a theory of universal properties may be the most internally consistent means of addressing these demands, an object-oriented metaphysics needs to address them without a concept of shared features. This means that regular divisions of invariant features and our intuitions of them cannot be explained by the repetition of self-same characteristics or natural laws. They can instead be explained by the immanent repetition of similar features. However, this requires a new, radically aesthetic understanding of what it means to be similar in the first place, one in which similarity is an emergent process rather than a state of affairs existing between resembling particulars. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T08:24:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-94dfcdec76b24da195c7db31677f13ac |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2543-8875 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T08:24:15Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj.art-94dfcdec76b24da195c7db31677f13ac2022-12-21T18:32:41ZengDe GruyterOpen Philosophy2543-88752018-11-011132734110.1515/opphil-2018-0024opphil-2018-0024How to be a Realist about Similarity: Towards a Theory of Features in Object-Oriented PhilosophyRoderick Noah0Örebro University,Örebro, SwedenThis essay calls for an independent theory of features in object-oriented philosophy. Theories of features are in general motivated by at least two interconnected demands: 1) to explain why objects have the characteristics they have, 2) to explain how regular divisions in those characteristics can be intuited. While a theory of universal properties may be the most internally consistent means of addressing these demands, an object-oriented metaphysics needs to address them without a concept of shared features. This means that regular divisions of invariant features and our intuitions of them cannot be explained by the repetition of self-same characteristics or natural laws. They can instead be explained by the immanent repetition of similar features. However, this requires a new, radically aesthetic understanding of what it means to be similar in the first place, one in which similarity is an emergent process rather than a state of affairs existing between resembling particulars.https://doi.org/10.1515/opphil-2018-0024universal propertiestropesfeaturesobject-oriented ontologysimilarityaestheticsmaterialismrepetitionplatoedmund husserlbertrand russellgraham harman |
| spellingShingle | Roderick Noah How to be a Realist about Similarity: Towards a Theory of Features in Object-Oriented Philosophy Open Philosophy universal properties tropes features object-oriented ontology similarity aesthetics materialism repetition plato edmund husserl bertrand russell graham harman |
| title | How to be a Realist about Similarity: Towards a Theory of Features in Object-Oriented Philosophy |
| title_full | How to be a Realist about Similarity: Towards a Theory of Features in Object-Oriented Philosophy |
| title_fullStr | How to be a Realist about Similarity: Towards a Theory of Features in Object-Oriented Philosophy |
| title_full_unstemmed | How to be a Realist about Similarity: Towards a Theory of Features in Object-Oriented Philosophy |
| title_short | How to be a Realist about Similarity: Towards a Theory of Features in Object-Oriented Philosophy |
| title_sort | how to be a realist about similarity towards a theory of features in object oriented philosophy |
| topic | universal properties tropes features object-oriented ontology similarity aesthetics materialism repetition plato edmund husserl bertrand russell graham harman |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/opphil-2018-0024 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rodericknoah howtobearealistaboutsimilaritytowardsatheoryoffeaturesinobjectorientedphilosophy |