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    On Putnam's own causal-historical account, 'gold' rigidly... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Having atomic number 79 is necessarily a necessary condition for being gold, but not a sufficient condition for being gold.

    On Putnam's own causal-historical account, 'gold' rigidly designates the actual stuff in our environment, not any single intrinsic property like atomic number.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Our term 'gold' was introduced by pointing to samples in nature, establishing reference via causal contact with the actual substance itself.
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    • 2.Scientific discovery revealed gold's atomic number post hoc; this didn't change what 'gold' refers to, suggesting reference precedes property identification.
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    • 3.Intrinsic properties like atomic number could theoretically vary across possible worlds while 'gold' maintains reference to the original substance.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Rigid designation requires a principled criterion for tracking identity across worlds; brute causal history alone underdetermines this criterion.
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    • 2.If 'gold' designates 'the stuff causing our samples,' we face circularity: which properties make something count as 'the same stuff'?
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    • 3.Putnam himself later emphasized stereotype and nominal essence, suggesting intrinsic properties do play an essential role in determining reference.
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    Modality & Possibility1 linkedPhilosophy of Language1 linked

    Related

    Having atomic number 79 is necessarily a necessary condition for being gold, but...If 'gold' designates 'the stuff causing our samples,' we face circularity: which...Intrinsic properties like atomic number could theoretically vary across possible...Our term 'gold' was introduced by pointing to samples in nature, establishing re...
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    Putnam himself later emphasized stereotype and nominal essence, suggesting intri...Rigid designation requires a principled criterion for tracking identity across w...Scientific discovery revealed gold's atomic number post hoc; this didn't change ...

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
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    1 edit