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    Water is essentially composed of H2O molecules, even thou... — Carmelics
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    Home/Philosophy of Language
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    Water is essentially composed of H2O molecules, even though water as a liquid and H2O as a chemical formula are not co-extensive.

    Modality & PossibilityPhilosophy of Language
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    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Putnam's argument establishes that necessarily all water is composed of H2O molecules.
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    • 2.The fact that H2O can exist as a solid or gas does not contradict the claim that water is necessarily composed of H2O.
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    • 3.The fact that a single H2O molecule lacks bulk properties like temperature does not contradict the claim that water is necessarily composed of H2O.
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
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    • 1.Kripke's modal essentialism applies to natural kind terms via rigid designation, but water's reference was fixed before H2O was discovered, making the necessity aposteriori rather than metaphysically grounded in composition.
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    • 2.If necessity here is epistemic rather than metaphysical, then 'water is essentially H2O' is a strong empirical generalization, not a claim about the intrinsic nature of water across all possible worlds.
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    • 3.Dupré's promiscuous realism shows that natural kind boundaries are interest-relative, undermining the claim that H2O picks out a uniquely privileged essential structure rather than one useful scientific classification among many.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
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    • 1.Putnam's twin earth argument presupposes semantic externalism, but internalists like Searle argue that reference is fixed by descriptive content, meaning XYZ could be 'water' if it plays the same functional role.
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    • 2.If the same functional and phenomenological role suffices for reference, then H2O composition is a contingent feature of our water, not an essential feature of water as such across all possible worlds.
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    Philosophy of LanguageModality & Possibility

    Related

    Dupré's promiscuous realism shows that natural kind boundaries are interest-rela...If necessity here is epistemic rather than metaphysical, then 'water is essentia...If the same functional and phenomenological role suffices for reference, then H2...Kripke's modal essentialism applies to natural kind terms via rigid designation,...
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    Putnam's argument establishes that necessarily all water is composed of H2O mole...Putnam's twin earth argument presupposes semantic externalism, but internalists ...The fact that H2O can exist as a solid or gas does not contradict the claim that...The fact that a single H2O molecule lacks bulk properties like temperature does ...The polymer-like hydrogen-bonded structure of water is consistent with water bei...

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    Putnam's argument establishes that necessarily all water is composed o...88%Being composed of H2O molecules is necessary for something to be a sam...86%Water cannot be considered merely a compound composed of a collection ...85%The polymer-like hydrogen-bonded structure of water is consistent with...84%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: natural-kinds
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    The fact that such arguments show only that F is an essential property of K means that they are invulnerable to complaints that not everything with F is K. For example it is sometimes complained that water cannot be essentially H2O for the following reasons (a) water is a liquid, whereas a substance comprised of H2O can exist as a solid or a gas; (b) a single H2O molecule is not a sample of water because it does not have the properties we can ascribe to samples of water (such as a temperature);
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit