Book contents
- Aristotle on Accidental Causation
- Aristotle on Accidental Causation
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Texture of Aristotle’s Ontology
- Chapter 2 What Is Accidental to What
- Chapter 3 Aristotle on How Efficient Causation Works
- Chapter 4 The Nature of Accidental Causation
- Chapter 5 Causal Inference
- Chapter 6 The Causal Profile of Lucky Occurrences
- Chapter 7 Why Aristotle Needs Accidental Causation
- Chapter 8 Expert Activity and the Metaphysics of Action
- Chapter 9 The Role of the Accidental in the Physical World
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 1 - The Texture of Aristotle’s Ontology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 January 2025
- Aristotle on Accidental Causation
- Aristotle on Accidental Causation
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 The Texture of Aristotle’s Ontology
- Chapter 2 What Is Accidental to What
- Chapter 3 Aristotle on How Efficient Causation Works
- Chapter 4 The Nature of Accidental Causation
- Chapter 5 Causal Inference
- Chapter 6 The Causal Profile of Lucky Occurrences
- Chapter 7 Why Aristotle Needs Accidental Causation
- Chapter 8 Expert Activity and the Metaphysics of Action
- Chapter 9 The Role of the Accidental in the Physical World
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Typically, Aristotle’s notion of an accidental unity is explained using our concept of identity, but doing so is fraught and liable to mislead. I argue that we should explain accidental unities in terms of sameness: Doing so not only shows a coherence among texts thought to be in tension with one another, it reconciles the two competing conceptions of accidental unities in a satisfying way. I conclude by answering several Boolean questions that naturally arise in response to the inclusion of accidental unities in Aristotle’s ontology.
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- Aristotle on Accidental Causation , pp. 14 - 46Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024