Issues in Theoretical Diversity: Persistence, Composition, and Time
Miller (Kristie)
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Back Cover Blurb

  1. Our world is full of composite objects that persist through time: dogs, persons, chairs and rocks. But in virtue of what do a bunch of little objects get to compose some bigger object, and how does that bigger object persist through time? This book aims to answer these questions, but it does so by looking at accounts of composition and persistence through a new methodological lens. It asks the question: what does it take for two theories to be genuinely different, and how can we know whether what seems like metaphysical disagreement is really just semantic disagreement?
  2. By offering a framework within which to explore issues of theoretical diversity, this book provides a novel way of thinking about the inter-relationship between composition and persistence. Ultimately, it argues for a new way of thinking about these issues, a way that does not preserve the standard theoretical dichotomies between four-dimensionalist theories on the one hand, and three-dimensionalist theories on the other.
Book Comment

Springer; 2006 edition (2 Jan. 2007)


"Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity: Introduction"

Source: Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity, Introduction


Miller notes the following interdependencies between the book and her earlier work:


"Miller (Kristie) - What is Metaphysical Equivalence?"

Source: Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity, Chapter 1


Sections
  1. Metaphysical Equivalence
    1.1. Case Studies
    1.2. Defining Metaphysical Equivalence
  2. Inter-translatability and Equivalence
  3. Diagnostic Criteria
    3.1. Diagnosing a Practical Translation: Empirical Equivalence
    3.2. Diagnosing a Practical Translation: the Principle of Charity
    3.3. Diagnosing a Practical Translation: Explanatory Power
    3.4. Diagnosing a Correct Translation: Explanatory Idle Elements
  4. Why is this Metaphysical Equivalence?
  5. How does this account help?

Paper Comment

Contrast with "Miller (Kristie) - What is Metaphysical Equivalence?".


"Miller (Kristie) - The Puzzles of Persistence"

Source: Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity, Chapter 2


Sections
  1. The Puzzles of Persistence
    1.1. Change
    1.2. Temporary Coincidence
    1.3. Permanent Coincidence
    1.4. Fission
  2. Two General Approaches to Persistence
    2.1. Three-dimensionalism
    2.2. Broadly Three-dimensionalist Approaches
    2.3. Four-dimensionalism
    2.4. Broadly Four-dimensionalist Approaches
  3. Different solutions?


"Miller (Kristie) - Defining Our Terms"

Source: Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity, Chapter 3


Sections
  1. Getting Started
  2. Four-dimensionalism
    2.1. Ancillary Commitments and Consistency
    2.2. The Stage View1
  3. Three-dimensionalism
    3.1. Definition Difficulties
    3.2. Possibilist Suggestions
  4. A New Definition of Endurance
    4.1. Instantiating Properties Simpliciter
    4.2. Having Parts Simpliciter


"Miller (Kristie) - Issues of Composition"

Source: Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity, Chapter 4


Sections
  1. Ancillary Commitments Considered
  2. Vagueness and Unrestricted Composition
    2.1. The Argument from Vagueness
  3. Enduring Simples, Instantaneous Objects
    3.1. Fusions-at-a-time and Fusions (at a time)
    3.2. Fusions-at-times and Temporal Parts
  4. Unrestricted Endurantism1
  5. Where to Now?


"Miller (Kristie) - The Metaphysical Equivalence of Unitary Three- and Four-dimensionalism"

Source: Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity, Chapter 5


Sections
  1. Refining Unitary Three-Dimensionalism
  2. Unitary Four-dimensionalism
  3. Diagnosing a Practical Translation
    3.1. Assertibility Mappings
    3.2. Explanatory Equivalence
    3.3. The Principle of Charity


"Miller (Kristie) - The Metaphysical Equivalence of Non-Unitary Three- and Four-dimensionalism"

Source: Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity, Chapter 6


Sections
  1. Non-Unitary Views
    1.1. Assertibility Mappings
    1.2. Diagnosing a Practical Translation: Explanatory Equivalence
    1.3. The Principle of Charity
  2. Modal1 Properties and Contingent Identity2
    2.1. Modal3 Inductility Arguments
    2.2. Endurantists4 and Modal5 Inductility
  3. A Correct Translation?
  4. A Preferable Theory of Persistence?
    4.1. The Transitivity of Equivalence
    4.2. Unitary or Non-unitary?


"Miller (Kristie) - Travelling in Time"

Source: Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity, Chapter 7


Sections
  1. The Problem of Time Travel1
    1.1. Time Travelling2 Perdurantists3
    1.2. Time Travelling4 Three-dimensionalists
  2. Unitary Views
  3. Non-unitary Views
  4. Against Spatial Adverbialisation
    4.1. Knowing Which of Me Does What
    4.2. Mereological Abstinence
  5. Fission Re-examined
  6. Where to from here?


"Miller (Kristie) - Empirical Equivalence and Special Relativity"

Source: Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity, Chapter 8


Sections
  1. The Strong View
    1.1. Presentism, Three-dimensionalism and Special Relativity
    1.2. Special Relativity and Endurance
  2. The Moderate View
    2.1. Co-existence and Endurance
    2.2. Special Relativity, Parthood and Properties
  3. The Weak View
  4. Substantivalism/Relationalism; Monism/Dualism
  5. Conclusion


Text Colour Conventions (see disclaimer)
  1. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2025
  2. Mauve: Text by correspondent(s) or other author(s); © the author(s)


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