Lexicon of Arguments

 

II 58f
Disposition/Goodman: I suspect that dispositions are less problematic than subjunctive conditionals, which sounds weird, given that both can be completely transformed into one another.
Vs: there can easily be given circumstances (for example, lack of oxygen) under which the disposition statement is true and the subjunctive conditional (counterfactual conditional) is wrong. One would have to translate more carefully:
If the condition had been favorable ...
The key point is that the disposition statement is weaker.> Circumstances.
II 61
Hidden Variable/Goodman: it is misleading to regard the problem of disposition as the one of explanation of hidden properties. I do not want to say that there is some object like the property burnable or the property of "burning". There are just predicates that produce relations.
II 65
Essential features/nature/Goodman: it does not matter to which degree a property is essential, but how it relates to the manifest property. The problem of disposition is in the definition of this type of connection.
II 69
When you come to the conclusion that the occurrence of a specific spectrum is a good indication for the flexibility, then you can define the predicate "flexible - under force or under spectroscopic examination" and its opposite (not flexible).