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(2006) Synthese 148 (1).
Quantum-mechanical statistics and the inclusivist approach to the nature of particulars
Francesco Orilia
pp. 57-77
There have been attempts to derive anti-haeccetistic conclusions from the fact that quantum mechanics (QM) appeals to non-standard statistics. Since in fact QM acknowledges two kinds of such statistics, Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac, I argue that we could in the same vein derive the sharper anti-haeccetistic conclusion that bosons are bundles of tropes and fermions are bundles of universals. Moreover, since standard statistics is still appropriate at the macrolevel, we could also venture to say that no anti-haecceitistic conclusion is warranted for ordinary objects, which could then tentatively be identified with substrates. In contrast to this, however, there has been so far no acknowledgement of the possibility of inclusivism, according to which ontological accounts of particulars as widely different as those can possibly coexist in one world picture. The success of the different statistics in physics at least calls for a revision in this respect.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/s11229-004-6216-4
Full citation:
Orilia, F. (2006). Quantum-mechanical statistics and the inclusivist approach to the nature of particulars. Synthese 148 (1), pp. 57-77.
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