Abstract
In this paper I argue for the existence of non-symmetric relations. Armstrong and Dorr have argued that (1) non-symmetric relations are trouble, and (2) that we don’t need non-symmetric relations because we can make do with symmetric relations when it comes to accounting for the order we find in nature. But, I argue, Armstrong and Dorr are wrong about both (1) and (2). Their efforts to do without non-symmetric relations presuppose them, whilst their arguments that non-symmetric relations are subject to a tu quoque response. This paper contributes a further plank to the ostrich realism about relations that I advocate in Macbride (2013).
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | The Problem of Universals in Contemporary Philosophy |
Editors | Gabriele Galluzzo, Michael J. Loux |
Place of Publication | Cambridge |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 173-194 |
Number of pages | 22 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781107100893 |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Keywords
- Relations
- universals
- Humeanism
- Dorr
- Armstrong
- Non-symmetric