Form and Persistence

• Applicant: Dr. Dirk Franken
• Subject Area: Theoretical Philosophy
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 406267849

The project will be concerned with the question of the nature of composite physical objects. Until quite recently, the dominating position in the debate about this question was so-called classical extensional mereology (CEM). According to CEM, any composite physical object is the object it is exclusively in virtue of its being composed of specific physical components. Neither the kinds nor the arrangement of these components play any role. Since about the turn of the century, however, the Aristotelian idea of hylomorphism made a remarkable comeback and is now nearly as well established as CEM. According to this idea, the nature of a composite physical object is not only – or not at all – determined by its specific physical components (its matter), but also – or only – by the kind and the arrangement of these components (its structure or form). The driving force behind the resurrecting of hylomorphism were certain new ideas on modality, which are intimately connected with the name of Kit Fine. Modality was no longer thought of as a matter of things going on in foreign (possible) worlds, but as being grounded in the natures (i.e. essences) of actual objects. Hylomorphism provided just the rich and fine-grained account of essences which made it possible to ascribe this explanatory role to them. As a consequence of the debate’s taking this course, most contemporary arguments for hylomorphism are, in one way or another, driven by considerations of modality.The project is intended as a critical contribution to the development just outlined. It starts from the principled acceptance of both hylomorphism and the essentialist approach on modality that gave rise to its resurrection. Its guiding hypothesis is, however, that the strong focus on issues of modality inherent in this development prevents a proper understanding of the nature of composite physical objects, and that an adequate account of such objects cannot be reached without paying proper attention to another important aspect of their metaphysics: Their persistence. Accordingly, the topic of persistence will take center stage in the project. I will argue that a specific understanding of persistence-conditions that is at work in many prominent accounts of composite physical objects is seriously flawed. According to this understanding, an object’s having certain persistence-conditions is a function of these persistence-conditions being fulfilled by the stages of the object’s career. Against this, I will insist that things are the other way around. Objects have their persistence-conditions prior to these condition’s being fulfilled and their having specific careers consisting of specific stages is a function of their having the persistence-conditions they have. Relying on this improved understanding of an object’s persistence-conditions, I will develop and defend a substantially new version of hylomorphism: horizontal hylomorphism.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants