Sider, Hawley, Sider and the Vagueness Argument

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The Vagueness Argument for universalism only works if you think there is a good reason not to endorse nihilism. Sider's argument from the possibility of gunk is one of the more popular reasons. Further, Hawley has given an argument for the necessity of everything being either gunky or composed of mereological simples. I argue that Hawley's argument rests on the same premise as Sider's argument for the possibility of gunk. Further, I argue that that premise can be used to demonstrate the possibility of simples. Once you stick it all together, you get an absurd consequence. I then survey the possible lessons we could draw from this, arguing that whichever one you take yields an interesting result.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)241-250
Number of pages10
JournalPhilosophical Studies
Volume154
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2011

Keywords

  • Sider
  • Universalism
  • Mereological simples
  • Vagueness Argument
  • Hawley
  • Unrestricted mereological composition
  • Mereology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Sider, Hawley, Sider and the Vagueness Argument'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this