Seminar “Unity Relation”
University of Oxford – Spring 2023
Abstract
In this seminar we will focus on unity relations. By ‘unity relations’, we mean all those relations that have the crucial role of (i) making from many things one, or (ii) making diverse things that are not strictly speaking identical count as the same in a context or under a given respect. The relation playing role (i) is involved in familiar cases such as a human body or an abbey, i.e. one thing that somehow emerges from many. The phenomenon described in (ii) might sound exotic instead (how can two or more things somehow be the same?), but it is a commitment of some well-established metaphysical views such as perdurantism and counterpart theory.
Sessions
19th January: Mark Johnston ‘Hylomorphism’
26th January: Matti Eklund ‘Regress, Unity, Facts, and Propositions’
2nd February: no session
9th February: Nicholas K. Jones ‘How to Unify’
16th February: Aaron Cotnoir and Achille C. Varzi ‘Composition’ (Mereology, § 5.1 – § 5.3.4)
23rd February: Maegan Fairchild ‘Plenitude, Coincidence, and Humility’
2nd March: Daniel Giberman ‘On Stage with Gunk’
9th March: V. Grandjean ‘Indeterminate Identity’
Practical information
The seminar will take place every Thursday of Hilary term 2023 (15 January – 11 March), from 2:00pm to 3:30pm in Harris Seminar Room (Oriel College).
Credits
The seminar is in collaboration with Maria Scarpati’s SNSF Early Postdoc.Mobility P2NEP1_2000132, entitled ‘Unity Relation’.