Vagueness and Identity
ABSTRACT: The view that identity can be vague holds that there are statements of identity which are neither true nor false. The view that composition can be vague holds that unities can have borderline constituents — that is, elements that are neither parts nor non-parts of some larger unity. The case for vague identity is typically made by way of an argument for the vagueness of composition. In this paper, however, I argue that the thesis that composition can be vague is actually incompatible with the thesis of vague identity. The argument for the incompatibility of these two views arises out of a demonstration of the way in which constituency facts (even vague constituency facts) are grounded in the other facts about how a larger unity is configured. Thus, I show that composites that are allegedly vaguely identical are actually different configurations. Hence, the alliance of vague composition with vague identity is taken to be all that is needed in order to show that compositional vagueness is indefensible.
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It is sometimes held that, like other things, identity can be vague.But care should be taken about what this means. The claim that identity can be vague is best understood as the claim that there can be statements of identity which are indeterminate in truth value. This view gains in attractiveness when the precision of the concept of identity is contrasted with the lack of precision endemic to various criteria of identity. As Sainsbury notes, diachronic artifact identity must surely be governed by principles such as this: "Replacing some, but not too many, parts of an artifact does not destroy it, but leaves the very same artifact". Such principles are vague. How could the identity relation, which they determine, be precise? Considerations like these extend to members of natural kinds like mountains and cows as well. What's consistent throughout these views is that identity requires enough of the appropriate sort of continuity. This reliance on continuity goes for not only the way we re-identify things over time, but for the way we individuate objects at a time as well. So for example, spatio-temporal continuity at least partially explains how it is that at Broadway and 42nd I am standing on the same road I stood on when I was at Broadway and 41st. Since identity deciding conditions like continuity and contiguousness can be weak or strong or more or less, it appears the vagueness of those concepts has a limiting effect on how precise identity claims can be.
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College athletes should be paid! College athletes are often considered to be some of the luckiest students in the world. Most of them receiving all inclusive scholarships that cover all the costs of their education. They are also in a position to make a reputation for themselves in the sporting world preparing them for the next step. The ongoing debate whether student athletes should be paid has been going on for years. These athletes bring in millions of dollars for their respective schools and receive zero in return. Many will argue that they do receive payment, but in reality it is just not true. Costs associated with getting a college education will be discussed, information pertaining to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and benefits student athletes receive. First, I’ll start with costs associated with college and most of all why student athletes should be paid!
In India, for example, caste systems are used. The lowest caste is called Shudra, the Shudra are the unskilled and semi-skilled workers. They receive next to nothing for very labor intensive jobs such as farming and factory work. The caste after that is called the Vaishya. The Vaishya are businessmen and are more powerful than the Shudra. They still are paid very little and work in jobs such as market stalls. Th...
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In life someone’s identity are change by the events that happen in their lifetime or their actions. In the book, “Night,” by Elies Wisesl tells the story of the events of the Holocaust that happen to the Jews in Sighet. The Jews were once living their life like everyone else, until the events of the Holocaust destroyed it. The Jews were stripped of everything by the Nazi that made up their identity. They were treated so bad to the point that it seem unreal to those who didn’t experience it. The Jews that were involved in the events of the Holocaust, their identities were affected and change .
In order to show that the best account of identity is psychological continuity I present the following argument:
A logically self-contradictory utterance is not only false, it cannot possibly describe anything. Therefore, it may also be called an impossible description. A tautological utterance, on the other hand, says something true, but it supplies no new information about the world. Therefore, from a common sense point of view, it is a superfluous description. There are at least, I will show, three other kinds of utterances which adequately can be called impossible descriptions and three which can be called superfluous descriptions. Only views which belong ...
The themes of identity and intimacy were difficult to define when analyzing the social dynamic between African Americans and White Americans. When evaluating their interactions with one another, it was interesting to observe the many complexities of human beings. Slavery created the need for identification. As the slave trade increased, ethnic sub groups’ exposure to one another and to Europeans resulted in the reinterpretation and acculturation of cultures. Identity persisted as an entity of importance from the African-based communities to their descendants as identification could emancipate black slaves from the shackles of slavery. Even though slavery was a shared success for global markets, the relationship between slaves and slaveholders
When thinking about Identity, it might be easy to just say that is “who we are”, or it’s just me. An identity is much more than that though. I like to think of it as a living puzzle. There are hundreds or thousands of pieces that come together to form the complete identity, or the complete “you”. I say living because an identity grows throughout the years and even changes depending on the situation. There is a multitude of influences that goes into forming a person’s identity some of which a person chooses and others they don’t. Family members and guardians are a primary source of learning when a child is young. As a person grows, the sphere of influence broadens to include mentors, media, and school. This identity is then a lens through which
Identity is a state of mind in which someone recognizes/identifies their character traits that leads to finding out who they are and what they do and not that of someone else. In other words it's basically who you are and what you define yourself as being. The theme of identity is often expressed in books/novels or basically any other piece of literature so that the reader can intrigue themselves and relate to the characters and their emotions. It's useful in helping readers understand that a person's state of mind is full of arduous thoughts about who they are and what they want to be. People can try to modify their identity as much as they want but that can never change. The theme of identity is a very strenuous topic to understand but yet very interesting if understood. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez and Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki are two remarkable books that depict the identity theme. They both have to deal with people that have an identity that they've tried to alter in order to become more at ease in the society they belong to. The families in these books are from a certain country from which they're forced to immigrate into the United States due to certain circumstances. This causes young people in the family trauma and they must try to sometimes change in order to maintain a comfortable life. Both authors: Alvarez and Houston have written their novels Is such an exemplifying matter that identity can be clearly depicted within characters as a way in adjusting to their new lives.
Obviously a word that has such a deep meaning can?t have a shallow definition. The other component of identity is one?s personality. Your thoughts, emotions, and attitudes also have a huge impact on your identity. This part is not something the world can hold to be true, but something you know to be true. This portion of your identity is not something that you have passively acquired, it is something you have experienced and built upon through...
There were two particular events that helped to give William a newfound sense of direction in his work and career. In January of 1795, a close friend of William died and in his will, he granted Wordsworth a legacy of 900 pounds; this money helped him to devote more time to his poetry. That same August, he met S.T. Coleridge and they quickly became close friends. In July of 1797, Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy moved to Alfoxden House, which was only a few miles from Coleridge's home in Nether Stowey. Speaking of Coleridge, himself and Dorothy, Wordsworth said, "we were three persons with one soul" (Hanley). Each day, Wordsworth and Coleridge would work on their poetry, discuss their ideas o...