Psychology Dictionary of Arguments

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Abstraction: Subsumption of objects by non-consideration of certain properties. See also equivalence relation, concretion, concreta, indiscernibility.
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Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments.

 
Author Concept Summary/Quotes Sources

John Bigelow on Abstraction - Dictionary of Arguments

I 380
Abstractions/Figures/Armstrong/Bigelow/Pargetter: Numbers are causally inactive.

Mathematics/Realism/Bigelow/Pargetter: some mathematical entities are even observable.
>Mathematical entities
, >Theoretical entities.
I 381
Causation/Mathematics/BigelowVsArmstrong/Bigelow/Pargetter: in fact, people are not causes, but they are involved in causal processes.
Numbers: they are also involved in causal processes. If objects did not instantiate the quantities they instanced, other changes would have occurred. Thus at least proportions are causally involved. ((s) FieldVsNumbers as causal agents, but not Vs proportions).
>Propositions, >Hartry Field, >Causality.
I 382
Counterfactual dependence/Bigelow/Pargetter: one can again set up consequences of counterfactual conditionals, e.g. For the lever laws of Archimedes. This also provides why-explanations.
>Dependence/Bigelow, >Counterfactual dependence.
I 383
Numbers/causality/Bigelow/Pargetter: this shows that numbers play a fundamental role in causal explanations.
>Platonism, >Causal explanations.
BigelowVsField: (ad Field, Science without numbers)(1): he falsely assumes that physics first starts with pure empiricism, in order to convert the results into completely abstract mathematics.
Field/Bigelow/Pargetter: wants to avoid this detour.
BigelowVsField: his project is superfluous when we realize that mathematics is only a different description of the physical proportions and relations and no detour.
>Proportions.

1. H. Field, Science without numbers Princeton New Jersey 1980.

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Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments
The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition.

Big I
J. Bigelow, R. Pargetter
Science and Necessity Cambridge 1990


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