Theo Todman's Web Page - Notes Pages

Personal Identity

Thisness (Haecceity)

(Text as at 06/07/2023 00:43:12)

Plug Note¹

• Thesis Text:
  1. Haecceity – or Primitive Thisness – is an idea in the logic of identity² that allows for an individual thing to be that thing irrespective of its properties. It’s the ultimate expression of the “pin cushion” model of substances³ (with the pins being properties⁴).
  2. It’s in tension with Leibniz’s⁵ rather dubious “law of the identity of indiscernibles”. I think it arises in the “universe with only two spheres” TE⁶, which have all the same properties – both intrinsic and relational – yet are intuitively distinct. Haecceity explains why (it may be said).
  3. If haecceity is allowed, then there are no essential properties, and certain dubious forms of metamorphosis⁷ – for instance – are allowed.
  4. So, while animalism⁸ says that we are essentially human animals, haecceity would (I presume) allow us to be transformed (if gradually) into transhumans⁹, via cyborgisation¹⁰ - or maybe even to be converted into androids¹¹. It would also allow the replacement of our brains¹² by siliconisation¹³ to be identity-preserving (both our identity, and that of our brains).
  5. I’m dubious about both claims, but a strict animalist would accept the former – as my brain is “just another organ”, replacing it with another – but functionally equivalent – organ with which it is non-identical would not affect the identity of the animal any more than an artificial heart would.

References

• Relevant Works cited above: No items to list.
• For a Page of Links¹⁴ to this Note, Click here.
• Works on this topic that I’ve actually read¹⁵, include the following:-
  • Aeon:
    1. "Ward (Thomas M.) - Who was Duns Scotus?", 2023, External Link
  • General:
    1. "Armstrong (David) - The Argument of Universals and Scientific Realism Vol. 1 (Nominalism and Realism)", 1978
    2. "Ayers (Michael R.) - Locke on 'Masses of Matter'", 1991, Annotations
    3. "Shoemaker (David) - Personal Identity and Immortality", 2009
    4. "Wilson (Jack) - Beyond Horses and Oak Trees: A New Theory of Individuation for Living Entities", 1999, Annotations
• The categorised reading list for this Note, is rather long given that this topic doesn’t appear to be central to my research. However, I’ve included most of them:-
  • General:
    1. "Adams (Robert Merrihew) - Actualism and Thisness", 1981, Internal PDF Link, Read = 3%
    2. "Adams (Robert Merrihew) - Primitive Thisness and Primitive Identity", 1979, Internal PDF Link, Read = 11%
    3. "Allaire (Edwin B.) - Another Look at Bare Particulars", 1999
    4. "Bailey (Andrew M.) - No Bare Particulars", 2012, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read = 11%
    5. "Chisholm (Roderick) - Possibility without Haecceity", 1989, No Abstract, Internal PDF Link
    6. "Davis (Richard Brian) - Haecceities, individuation and the Trinity: a reply to Keith Yandell", 2002, Internal PDF Link, Read = 8%
    7. "Funkhouser (Eric) - Notes on Adams, 'Primitive Thisness and Primitive Identity'", 2014, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read = 33%
    8. "Johnston (Mark) - 'Human Beings' Revisited: My Body is Not an Animal", 2007, Read = 78%
    9. "Johnston (Mark) - Manifest Kinds", 1997, Internal PDF Link, Read = 17%
    10. "Jubien (Michael) - Some Properties of Things", 1993
    11. "Moyer (Mark) - Defending Coincidence: An Explanation of a Sort", 2003, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read = 3%
    12. "Oderberg (David) - Predicate Logic and Bare Particulars", 2005, Internal PDF Link
    13. "Rosenkrantz (Gary) - Haecceity - Introductory Preliminaries", 1993, No Abstract
    14. "Rosenkrantz (Gary) - Haecceity - Preface", 1993, No Abstract, Read = 17%
    15. "Rosenkrantz (Gary) - Haecceity: An Ontological Essay", Book, Footnote₁₆
    16. "Savitt (Steven) - Notes on Adams 'Primitive Thisness and Primitive Identity'", Undated, Internal PDF Link, Read = 17%
    17. "Sider (Ted) - Bare Particulars", 2006, External Link, Internal PDF Link, Read = 22%
    18. "Skow (Bradford) - Haecceitism, Anti-Haecceitism and Possible Worlds", 2008, Internal PDF Link, Read = 22%
    19. "Stalnaker (Robert) - Counterparts and Identity", 2003
    20. "Swinburne (Richard) - Body and Soul", 1997, Footnote₁₇
    21. "Swinburne (Richard) - The Nature of Souls; Their Thisness", 1997, Footnote₁₈

  ---

• For a list of Works that have been considered, but have missed the cut for inclusion in this Section of my Thesis, see the following:-
  1. Read: No items to list.
  2. Further Reading: No items to list.
• This is mostly a place-holder¹⁹.

---

In-Page Footnotes:

Footnote 16:

• I don’t have this book, as it’s very expensive (£180), but quite a lot of the text is visible on Amazon.

Footnotes 17, 18:

• The two items by Swinburne may be useful as they bring in Swinburne’s “Soul View”.

---

Table of the Previous 8 Versions of this Note:

Date	Length	Title
20/09/2022 11:24:00	3812	Thisness (Haecceity)
04/05/2022 11:19:41	3431	Thisness (Haecceity)
18/02/2021 01:01:55	3171	Thisness (Haecceity)
30/09/2020 21:33:07	2553	Thisness (Haecceity)
25/07/2018 00:10:05	4665	Thisness (Haecceity)
03/08/2015 13:42:14	2543	Thisness (Haecceity)
26/11/2007 23:25:26	89	Thisness (Haecceity)
12/08/2007 10:17:46	80	Thisness (Haecceity)

---

Note last updated	Reading List for this Topic	Parent Topic
06/07/2023 00:43:12	Thisness (Haecceity)	Logic of Identity

---

Summary of Notes Referenced by This Note

Androids	Animalism	Awaiting Attention (Personal Identity)	Brain	Cyborgs
Leibniz	Logic of Identity	Metamorphosis	Note Links Explanation	Plug Note Apologia
Properties	Siliconisation	Soul Criterion	Substance	Thought Experiments
Transhumanism	Works Read - Explanation

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

---

Summary of Notes Citing This Note

Johnston - Human Beings	Logic of Identity	PID Note, Book & Paper Usage, 2, 3, 4	Siliconisation	Thesis - Chapter 04 (Basic Metaphysical Issues)
Thesis - Chapter 05 (Persistence and Time), 2, 3, 4, 5	Thesis - Chapter 12 (Conclusion)	Thesis - Current Stance	Thesis - Personal Identity, 2, 3, 4	Website Generator Documentation - Functors, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

---

Authors, Books & Papers Citing this Note

Author	Title	Medium	Extra Links	Read?
Adams (Robert Merrihew)	Actualism and Thisness	Paper
Adams (Robert Merrihew)	Primitive Thisness and Primitive Identity	Paper	2
Allaire (Edwin B.)	Another Look at Bare Particulars	Paper
Armstrong (David)	The Argument of Universals and Scientific Realism Vol. 1 (Nominalism and Realism)	Paper		Yes
Ayers (Michael R.)	Locke on 'Masses of Matter'	Paper		Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Review of 'Contemporary Dualism: A Defense' by Andrea Lavazza and Howard Robinson, Eds	Paper	2
Davis (Richard Brian)	Haecceities, individuation and the Trinity: a reply to Keith Yandell	Paper
Funkhouser (Eric)	Notes on Adams, 'Primitive Thisness and Primitive Identity'	Paper	2, 3, 4
Johnston (Mark)	Human Beings	Paper		Yes
Johnston (Mark)	'Human Beings' Revisited: My Body is Not an Animal	Paper
Kuhn (Robert Lawrence)	Aeon - Video - Jeff Tollaksen - quantum mechanics experiments	Paper		Yes
McCullough (Laurence)	Leibniz’s Principle of Individuation in His Disputatio metaphysica de principio individui of 1663	Paper
Moyer (Mark)	Defending Coincidence: An Explanation of a Sort	Paper
Rosenkrantz (Gary)	Acquaintance	Paper	2
Rosenkrantz (Gary)	Haecceity: An Ontological Essay	Book	2, 3
Savitt (Steven)	Notes on Adams 'Primitive Thisness and Primitive Identity'	Paper	2, 3
Shoemaker (David)	Personal Identity and Immortality	Paper	2, 3	Yes
Stalnaker (Robert)	Counterparts and Identity	Paper
Swinburne (Richard)	Body and Soul	Paper
Swinburne (Richard)	The Nature of Souls; Their Thisness	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 04 (Basic Metaphysical Issues)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 05 (Persistence and Time)	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 12 (Conclusion)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Current Position	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Logic of Identity	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Personal Identity	Paper	2, 3, 4	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Siliconisation	Paper		Yes
Ward (Thomas M.)	Who was Duns Scotus?	Paper		Yes
Wilson (Jack)	Beyond Horses and Oak Trees: A New Theory of Individuation for Living Entities	Paper	2	Yes

---

References & Reading List

Author	Title	Medium	Source	Read?
Adams (Robert Merrihew)	Actualism and Thisness	Paper - Cited	Synthese 49 (1981) 3-41	3%
Adams (Robert Merrihew)	Primitive Thisness and Primitive Identity	Paper - By Subtopic	Journal of Philosophy. Jan 1979; 76: 5-26	11%
Adams (Robert Merrihew)	Time and Thisness	Paper - By Subtopic	Midwest Studies in Philosophy (Vol XI) - Studies in Essentialism, 1986, pp. 315-329	No
Allaire (Edwin B.)	Another Look at Bare Particulars	Paper - By Subtopic	Laurence & Macdonald - Contemporary Readings in the Foundations of Metaphysics	No
Allaire (Edwin B.)	Bare Particulars	Paper - By Subtopic	Laurence & Macdonald - Contemporary Readings in the Foundations of Metaphysics	No
Armstrong (David)	Reply to John Bigelow's 'Sets are haecceities'	Paper - By Subtopic	Bacon, Campbell & Reinhardt - Ontology, Causality and Mind	No
Ayers (Michael R.)	Locke (Vol 2 - Ontology)	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Ayers (Michael R.) - Locke (Vol 2 - Ontology)	26%
Ayers (Michael R.)	Locke on 'Masses of Matter'	Paper - By Subtopic	Ayers - Locke (Vol. 2 - Ontology), 1991, Chapter 18, pp. 207-215	Yes
Bacon (John), Campbell (Keith) & Reinhardt (Lloyd)	Ontology, Causality and Mind	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Bacon (John), Campbell (Keith) & Reinhardt (Lloyd) - Ontology, Causality and Mind	4%
Bailey (Andrew M.)	No Bare Particulars	Paper - By Subtopic	Philosophical Studies 158 (2012): 31-41	11%
Bigelow (John)	Sets are haecceities	Paper - By Subtopic	Bacon, Campbell & Reinhardt - Ontology, Causality and Mind	No
Chappell (Vere)	Particulars Re-clothed	Paper - By Subtopic	Laurence & Macdonald - Contemporary Readings in the Foundations of Metaphysics	No
Chisholm (Roderick)	Possibility without Haecceity	Paper - By Subtopic	Chisholm - On Metaphysics, 1989, Chapter 5	No
Davis (Richard Brian)	Haecceities, individuation and the Trinity: a reply to Keith Yandell	Paper - By Subtopic	Religious Studies, 38, Issue 02, June 2002, pp 201-213	8%
French (Peter), Uehling (Theodore) & Wettstein (Howard)	Midwest Studies in Philosophy (Vol XI) - Studies in Essentialism	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	French (Peter), Uehling (Theodore) & Wettstein (Howard) - Midwest Studies in Philosophy (Vol XI) - Studies in Essentialism	No
Funkhouser (Eric)	Metaphysics, Spring 2014	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Funkhouser (Eric) - Metaphysics, Spring 2014	94%
Funkhouser (Eric)	Notes on Adams, 'Primitive Thisness and Primitive Identity'	Paper - By Subtopic	Funkhouser (Eric) - Metaphysics, Spring 2014	No
Hains (Brigid) & Hains (Paul)	Aeon: Follow-up Boxes	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	100%
Hains (Brigid) & Hains (Paul)	Aeon: Follow-up Boxes	Book - Referencing (via Paper Referencing)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	100%
Johnston (Mark)	Human Beings	Paper - Referencing	Journal of Philosophy, Volume 84, Issue 2 (Feb 1987), 59-83	Yes
Johnston (Mark)	'Human Beings' Revisited: My Body is Not an Animal	Paper - Referencing	Zimmerman (Dean), Ed. - Oxford Studies in Metaphysics: Volume 3	78%
Jubien (Michael)	Ontology, Modality, and the Fallacy of Reference	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Jubien (Michael) - Ontology, Modality, and the Fallacy of Reference	No
Jubien (Michael)	Some Properties of Things	Paper - By Subtopic	Jubien - Ontology, Modality, and the Fallacy of Reference, 1993, Chapter 3	No
Koslicki (Kathrin)	Essence and Identity	Paper - By Subtopic	Metaphysics, Meaning and Modality: Themes from Kit Fine, edited by Mircea Dumitru, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 2020	8%
Kuhn (Robert Lawrence)	Aeon - Video - Jeff Tollaksen - quantum mechanics experiments	Paper - Referencing	Aeon, 10 February 2022	Yes
Laurence (Stephen) & Macdonald (Cynthia), Eds.	Contemporary Readings in the Foundations of Metaphysics	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Laurence (Stephen) & Macdonald (Cynthia), Eds. - Contemporary Readings in the Foundations of Metaphysics	0%
Loux (Michael)	Concrete Particulars I: Substrata, Bundles, and Substances	Paper - By Subtopic	Loux - Metaphysics - A Contemporary Introduction, Second Edition, 2002, Chapter 3	6%
Loux (Michael)	Metaphysics - A Contemporary Introduction	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Loux (Michael) - Metaphysics - A Contemporary Introduction	5%
Oderberg (David)	Predicate Logic and Bare Particulars	Paper - By Subtopic	D.S. Oderberg (ed.), The Old New Logic: Essays on the Philosophy of Fred Sommers (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005): 183-210	No
Rosenkrantz (Gary)	Haecceity - Introductory Preliminaries	Paper - By Subtopic	Rosenkrantz - Haecceity: An Ontological Essay, 1993, Chapter 1	No
Rosenkrantz (Gary)	Haecceity - Preface	Paper - By Subtopic	Rosenkrantz - Haecceity: An Ontological Essay, 1993, Preface	17%
Rosenkrantz (Gary)	Haecceity: An Ontological Essay	Book - Cited	Rosenkrantz (Gary) - Haecceity: An Ontological Essay	0%
Rosenkrantz (Gary)	The Problem of Individuation	Paper - By Subtopic	Rosenkrantz - Haecceity: An Ontological Essay, 1993, Chapter 2	No
Salmon (Nathan)	Cross-World Identification and Stipulation	Paper - By Subtopic	Salmon - Reference and Essence, 2005, Appendix 5	No
Salmon (Nathan)	Reference and Essence	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Salmon (Nathan) - Reference and Essence	4%
Savitt (Steven)	Notes on Adams 'Primitive Thisness and Primitive Identity'	Paper - By Subtopic	Personal Page, University of Columbia Website	17%
Sider (Ted)	Bare Particulars	Paper - By Subtopic	Philosophical Perspectives 20 (2006), 387–97	22%
Skow (Bradford)	Haecceitism, Anti-Haecceitism and Possible Worlds	Paper - By Subtopic	The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 230, Special Issue: Existence and Identity (Jan., 2008), pp. 98-107	22%
Stalnaker (Robert)	Counterparts and Identity	Paper - By Subtopic	Stalnaker - Ways a World Might Be, Chapter 6	No
Stalnaker (Robert)	Ways a World Might Be: Metaphysical and Anti-Metaphysical Essays	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Stalnaker (Robert) - Ways a World Might Be: Metaphysical and Anti-Metaphysical Essays	1%
Swinburne (Richard)	The Evolution of the Soul	Book - By Subtopic (via Paper By Subtopic)	Swinburne (Richard) - The Evolution of the Soul	No
Swinburne (Richard)	The Nature of Souls; Their Thisness	Paper - By Subtopic	The Evolution of the Soul, February 1997, Appendix D, pp. 333-344(12)	No
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Thisness (Haecceity)	Paper - By Subtopic		Yes
Ward (Thomas M.)	Who was Duns Scotus?	Paper - Cited	Aeon, 03 August 2023	Yes
Ward (Thomas M.)	Who was Duns Scotus?	Paper - Referencing	Aeon, 03 August 2023	Yes
Wilson (Jack)	Beyond Horses and Oak Trees: A New Theory of Individuation for Living Entities	Paper - Referencing	Wilson, Jack - Biological Individuality: The identity and Persistence of Living Entities; 1999, Chap. 1, pp. 1-21	Yes
Wilson (Jack)	Biological Individuality - The identity and Persistence of Living Entities	Book - Referencing (via Paper Referencing)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	Yes
Zimmerman (Dean), Ed.	Oxford Studies in Metaphysics: Volume 3	Book - Referencing (via Paper Referencing)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	10%

---

Text Colour Conventions

1. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2026

---

© Theo Todman, June 2007 - July 2026.	Please address any comments on this page to theo@theotodman.com.	File output: 02/08/2026 00:32:34 Website Maintenance Dashboard
Return to Top of this Page	Return to Theo Todman's Philosophy Page	Return to Theo Todman's Home Page

---