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    Carmelics

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    Home/Original/inverse
    See Original
    Inverse View

    It is not the case that If an object that is an organism may continue its existence as a corpse, then 'dead' applies univocally to it at any time t after it dies, meaning roughly 'died before t'.

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    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.'Dead' as applied to a corpse picks out a present state of decomposition, not merely a historical event of dying before t.
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    • 2.A corpse at t+1 day and a corpse at t+1 year differ in degree of 'deadness' in ways univocal past-tense predication cannot capture.
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    • 3.Therefore 'dead' functions more like a gradable adjective tracking current biological states than a uniform relational predicate anchored to a past event.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Olson and van Inwagen argue that organisms cease to exist at death, meaning the corpse is a numerically distinct object, not the same continuant.
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    • 2.If the organism and corpse are distinct objects, 'dead' cannot apply univocally to one object across pre- and post-death times, since no single object persists through both phases.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.On this view, the organism and the corpse are the same object.
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    • 2.That object was once alive and then died.
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    • 3.So at any time t after it dies, 'dead' applies to it in the same sense, meaning it died before t.
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    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.