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(2015) Synthese 192 (1).
When do the folk think that material objects persist? Many metaphysicians have wanted a view which fits with folk intuitions, yet there is little agreement about what the folk intuit. I provide a range of empirical evidence which suggests that the folk operate with a teleological view of persistence: the folk tend to intuit that a material object survives alterations when its function is preserved. Given that the folk operate with a teleological view of persistence, I argue for a debunking explanation of folk intuitions, concluding that metaphysicians should dismiss folk intuitions as tied into a benighted view of nature.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/s11229-014-0555-6
Full citation:
Rose, D. (2015). Persistence through function preservation. Synthese 192 (1), pp. 97-146.
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