Problem of the many
“The Problem of the Many” is a philosophical problem concerning the existence of objects with vague boundaries, suggesting that there are either indefinitely many objects where we thought there was one, or no such object at all.
Philosophical problem of the many
- The core dilemma: Objects like clouds, mountains, or even a human body don’t have perfectly sharp boundaries. This vagueness leads to a paradox:
- If a cloud is defined as a specific collection of water droplets, there are likely trillions of different collections of droplets that could equally be called a “cloud”. This means there are many more clouds than we perceive.
- Alternatively, if we deny that any single one of these collections is a “cloud,” then there is no cloud at all.
- The philosophical puzzle: This problem challenges our everyday assumptions about the identity and existence of objects and is often debated in the context of the metaphysics of material constitution and vague predicates.
Peter Unger’s essay
- Philosopher Peter Unger wrote the influential 1980 essay “The Problem of the Many,” which gave the puzzle its name.
- The essay is a foundational text on the topic, exploring its implications for our understanding of the world.
Timothy Donnelly’s poetry collection
- Timothy Donnelly’s 2011 poetry collection, also titled The Problem of the Many, draws inspiration from Unger’s essay.
- The poems explore themes of identity, extinction, and civilization’s impact by grappling with the philosophical questions raised by the problem of the many.
- The collection’s title poem suggests that “opening oneself to the unexploitable” is an act of resistance.
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://www.planksip.org/the-problem-of-one-and-many-and-one-and-many-1760224141225/
[2] https://www.harvardreview.org/book-review/the-problem-of-the-many/
[4] https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2005/entries/problem-of-many/
[5] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/problem-of-many/
[6] https://home.sandiego.edu/~baber/metaphysics/readings/Unger.ProblemOfTheMany.pdf
[7] https://www.amazon.com/Problem-Many-Timothy-Donnelly/dp/1940696496