Combinatorialism revisited

Armstrong, David

Abstract

The object of this paper is to argue once again for the combinatorial account of possibility defended in earlier work (Armstrong, 1989, 1997). But there I failed fully to realise the dialectical advantages that accrue once one begins by assuming the hypothesis of logical atomism, the hypothesis that postulates simple particulars and simple universals (properties and relations) at the bottom of the world. Logical atomism is, I incline to think, no better than ‘speculative cosmology’ as opposed to ‘analytic ontology’, to use Donald Williams’ terminology (Williams, 1966, p.74). It is, however, not an implausible
hypothesis given the current state of quantum physics. More important for our purposes here, the strictly combinatorial theory that flows rather naturally from
the atomist metaphysics shows some promise of continuing to hold (perhaps with a little mutatis mutandis) in a world that is not an atomist world.

Citation

Armstrong, D. (2004). Combinatorialism revisited. In J.-M. Monnoyer (Ed.), La Structure du Mond: objets, propriétés, états et choses: renouveau de la métaphysique dans l'école australienne. Vrin

• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2004
• Deposit Date: Dec 17, 2007
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 21, 2007
• Journal: La Structure du Mond: objets, propriétés, états et choses
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: La Structure du Mond: objets, propriétés, états et choses: renouveau de la métaphysique dans l'école australienne
• ISBN: 2711616274
• Keywords: Combinatorialism
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1021183
• Additional Information: This paper was published in French as “Theorie Combinatoire Revue et Corrigée” in J-M. Monnoyer (ed) La Structure du Mond: objets, propriétés, états et choses, Paris, Vrin, 2004, pp.185-198. It appears here with minor corrections.; ; ISBN: 2-7116-1627-4
• Contract Date: Dec 17, 2007