Otherwise than being
For many philosophers, the scholarly debate around holes began in earnest in 1970, with Lewis and Lewis’s now classic article “Holes” (Australasian Journal of Philosophy 48: 206–212.) The authors presented their paper in a highly unusual format – that of an imaginary discussion between two philosophers, called Argle and Bargle, who are pondering the holes in a piece of Gruyère cheese. Argle believes that every hole has a hole-lining, and therefore the hole-lining is the hole. On the other hand, Bargle points out that even if hole-linings surround holes, things don’t surround themselves. Since the 70’s the philosophical debate around holes has continued and expanded considerably, and has now been complemented with an article by Kristopher McDaniel, assistant professor in the department of philosophy at Syracuse University, NY. The professor outlines the possibilities for a new and more comprehensive category of entities which includes holes, and which he calls “Almost Nothings.”
{ Improbable Research | Continue reading | Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy }
photo { Chad Muthard }
