1 On Being in the Same Place at the Same Time Ch One Remark About Categories and Materialism) David Wiggins 1152 truism fequenty called in evidence and confidently reed upon ia philosophy that two things canaot he lathe same place a the same tine Phinly this principle, which {shall lS, ought really say that vo things cannot completly occupy exactly the same place or exaly the sme vol ume (or exact the same subvolumes within exacly the same volume) for ‘eal the same period of time. No man i the same as his forearm. But ‘here is volume such that aman can wholly occupy i and such tat both ‘man and foram are i a exacl the same time, Bat this doesnot count More interestingly, think ofa sponge and de water that makes ita wet sponge. That does not count agains principe $ eter. Here we can press Im service the chemical theory of molectles to distinguish subvolumes tr subsubvolumes of the foal volume occupied by the sponge fom those occupied by the water. Buc dificult to believe that this deter ration of ours to allow nothing t count against S gets us tothe bottom of the mater. Ar very least, it would help to know what was the a prior or ‘metaphysical compulsion to thik in our present way about these ques ‘ons. What if in defiance of fact and the actual laws of chemistry and [Physi the water and the sponge were so utlery mived 1p that spatial ‘istincion seemed impossible, not only a the molecular level but aso at the atomic and a the subatomic? And what if you had only to squeeze to ‘ge water and sponge apart agin? Surely they woul be the same sponge and the same (Consignment of water afterward? And would they not have Joc in exactly the same place atthe same time? I thik 1 know howto resolve one, but only ane, ofthe dificult questions which aie out of ll 3: avi Wig this For one pr of thea pio bs for pile Ss no to dic 19 ATncover Bt Sl ot cone formulated ae cot aun Gee, spose) ata cera spot Ue 3 cca sn vote ah tm Ad ony at cee si ct ofthe clone molecles which compose the te Oe teupton oft, which pretely deers that the vo Indeed ee oceupics volume tT Gee Tad the ceulose ke seas tein emaciy the same place a exal the same time; Are Sea Rctae Now = wronly i hatever iste of Tre of W ese Aa en tk, that = Wronly fT and W have exactly the sme Leone ot petnce and suwival tough change. Bu sel-eriety they do oo Ao choppe down and then dismembered nd ot up in such 1m Te celese mere damaged seems hat W then sr 2 nay re jar as much wood inthe word as tec was before: But ee an ee tear soch wenn Convene, suppose hee rine Fund the cppngs are bored, or that undergoes an opie Fare ich destoys some of the orginal wood ces The the wee 7 sear ec te agneate defined asthe aggregate of such and such nti celkiose moles, doesnot survive Of course, You cold ariel ner noon of aggseate and give dead conor fr ae ei ed cxpunon of members of such an agave. Peshaps aa pres thee condos for gadal onan variation of tebe 10 and produce ancy W” wih excite same crteson ae ieee Bur tat would be a boring tick, You would have Cerne ado wholly in terms of molecules of wood els, You sere RA have conuved an Meni connection between someatig t son on af and wmcting i he exper oF sobstance By ior ae cncapt of somehing organized and substancetixo—that ee eo aay that Fy somthing over and abate. precy nes ee of matte constition is nok the "sof kenny. Te ees wane ofr contuted of or consists o) W, but is nt denial with pee cs cetning over and above B” denies A (wholly composes of) aA eimerely for merely consists of) BIA is something over and Fe, than of couse A # B, but the proper point of saying “over and sew eam the farther denial thar B fll exbausts the mater of 4 BAe dec ally exhaust Tand so P's not something over and above W. Hea materia tess that TW, doen my deal that T= Wis Tov of denial of mates. Ii interesting how very uninteresting a” em of ie Leibaiian difculies—real though they are—put in the cesses reduction of botany and all primitive terms to organic aa neta pyc UF it does not follow from TW that wees are chaperone 5 something over and aoe het mater, ow mich theless can i Shot cn tenon ee atcendent or serene inmate ‘ings a svialy abo forces A Lebistan dipolar {Gmatty could never Be enough fo show somthing so iargueg or Girt) tahould expect thereto be equal alt an rom he po of Sie of ontology slow equlyunexciing, aie lathe recon of essons 0 Mesh and Bones inpaychophyakal events, and in ‘eats wich ne mg om i her gre ach a the ansotlan eategocen property an sae or the atone siuation Ind facd. Ore and ‘atone one question, dati ster, But of Siete ony he Teal ym ore sot Ta Whee, xcept rena ht what 1 have edt show by thse example i oat whol fret fom 4 Piiosopia! hess which it has Hecome a commonplace of philosophy to cto in toms of teres logical peso which such hin as wes the agzepts they "ae" const GP belong. {pero por the mater ry wa ce ke lr a, ese eyes to lear statement nthe objet language os perfectyineligecennecton| fenven ten and elene moles, sn cane of the hh degree of inisbity enloyed by this Lebisin prince fr pecatve Gs Spposed conte) and oly Aa foe 9) then eee Sat wih an tor mith oe ofthe @ ngs sf an only ea one of the (or 9 things) then mt share ake properties wth that fo @ thing) Tis des aca the een ndard ocr of ‘tiene iat the which deve fom Rass simple orm fed Theory of Types They sy isch more than tian what you can td cannot ay abou 4 Bat my own opinions tha the rede fain ddacire. Let me now, however, rove fo aur proiple S “The te ands oes and wood cl done dove what was inallyitende by principle What has en shown sony that, reformat Sto read that we must Noo ting oft smd at no tings hh sty he same sot or substance concep cin occupy exalt sae volume «at exactly the same time, om _ : “his, think, 2 So of necessary th Khas a leas thee sources La ofsup- (1 Space cane mapped ony by reference t its occupants, and spa tala are cncepaiy dependent onthe exec of acs aout par cls an he Hens of pric pace it be mapped by reference to persisting particulars, then the nonidenty of paniculats A6 ac Wagis and B, both of kind must be sufcient 1 establish tha the place of 4 at tne the pace of Bat GG) srerterion of Kent for ike is material objets wil have 1 be something Ig At denial with 2 if there is Some subance concept f such that A cools with B under &Grhere fs a substance concept under which serobpect can be traced, indivdated and distinguished from othe Shed where coincides under fstsfatrly defines an equivalence a Sina ef wtone members 9) also saity the Lenin schema F =F? then sos. Fnding ‘Now logically implies SS ana prion th, then 0 i thot And B coincide under f sis the question whether A = B. Thee thing more to decide Git) There is conceptual basis Foran even stronger truth than 5 namely thing 6 where A# C 5 and a proper pat or constinent 8 of a hi thing G, und 4 ¢ Band where o part or constituent of Ais ay part oF con Smuens of B or of 6, cannce compleely occupy exactly the same vole ‘ume at exactly the sim time Be abe necro neem met er ibe Some aaemsmctetiaeomenely ete ty eerie Seyi miaceee caries Ca acnag teen meer ati Wiberg eee rire tpt se mien cedeemrne dro gene narra ee te pam ea see mee sel eg sere eel ee are ae amare cay oe Teena atime 4 Then both Tib and Tibbles were on the mat at. This caper One . does not volte S* ofS". But consider the positon from fy onward when, Something the wore for wear, the cat isting on the mat without ati I there one cat or are there two cas there? Tih certsiny sting thee, tn 3 ‘vay nothing happened to bim ac all Bu so is Tiles. For Tbbles lost his tal srsved this experince, and then at f was siting onthe mat. And we agreed that Th # Tibbles. We can uphold the transtity of identity Sem, only if we sick by that deck at and allow that at there are two cats onthe matin exacly the same place al exactly the same tie. But any adherence to obliges me o reject this 0, (am obliged to find some- thing independently wrong withthe ay in which the puzae was et up Ie ‘vas Set up la such a way that before Tibles had a tallas apart and Tb allegedly did nor have avail 8a pa Wf one dislikes this feature (a | Jo), then one has to ask, “Can one identify and name apart of aca, insist one Is naming just that and insist that what one is naming is aca’? Ths my argument against the supposition that one care Does Tb havea til or no? Timean the question inthe ordinary sense of “have,” notin any pele sense “have 36 par.” For in'a way iis precisely the proplety OF some ther concept of baving as a part which i in question. Surely Tib adjoins and is connected 10a tll inthe standard Way in which cats who have tals are connected with thee als, There ino peculaty in this case Otherwise ‘Tinbles himself might ot hae a tal. Surely any animal which has tal loses a member or part of iself if ts al 6 cute. But then there was | such cat as the cat who a as no tas 2 par of nse. Certainly there ‘was catpan which anybody could call “Tf they wished. But one ean ‘ot define into existence aca aed Tb who had no al a par of self 27 there was no such eat af If someone thought he coud, then one Init ask hm (before the cui at), this Tb of yours the seca as “TBbles or he diferent ca” Postscript In this ance, 1 urge tar there ae thee possible bases, namely, (DG i foes" Tam ess happy than I ust once have bee with each of (Gi Gi. { inconelusive-as can be sen By the possiblity ef adding to my last senzence the following words". unex ofcourse there some other way ‘rsome group of other ways of esablishing that hese pices ae diferent ‘As egal (i), I doubt now that non question egingly implies Sn ‘order that py shoul be serviceahle to our indiiduatve practice, do We have to suppose that As and Bs colncding precludes the possiblity of watever we ind inthe place where Ai and fe separating ino 0 sep state thing? Even if we do have to suppese tat dhs pected, dos that make met supposes? [Meanwhile (i) seems inconcusive too, Perhaps A and B, distin thingsbut supposedly co-ceupying a tine fone and the same place, coud be Pelntched ta respec of properties or atibuies ad distinguished #0 eiobe any volume of space taking on inconsistent properties. tue dat Tana Dee things of he same Kin, then all th precates of each of wn a td have tobe identified within a common range. But here theres Ul the due expressed under (above The unter more dificult then than T supposed tiny years ago. But row feta ty to make 4 move on an adjoining squire of the Boa Tras as we continue 10 take materal substances ofthis or dat patie tu tad arounty, and soit this seriousness of os engages wih a te eet ihe cata explanation of he Interactions of bodies in he pase cr ihe sabatance concepts that we cherish wil be concep of his Ga tompae for space inthe wert things that do nt slide ito One another we our of another again ae that exclude one anser from a given place ‘These ae concep of things that oppose one another and inert, depen “Tr some connected and furter though hee, see my “Substance” Mhony Grayling (ed, Phioxopy: A Guide trough the Subject (Oxford Meee pres 19) What then is the satus ofS? Is perhaps a candle Cee So a gmerion necessary tuth, but one founded in the expe ta have i have of sound concepss of substances? (ND. The pla ees mean ofthis that or the the kind of substance, € mat, Dea, cakeee, ec) Notes 1. There i mich move tobe sal eth about deny and about merelopal ie pen appa ed toy ite deity and ‘Sit emporal Concnuty Oslo, 195, pp 1, 6-8 72 cet apy eal acs Mr Jones a npc es hs ‘tse seater and winds the wool io a ball Equting mater and bet, we vac tony the wool the meter But suppote se then crochet Pat ‘al ee th moo Then by tansy he sweter ste pu of Dedaock aoe tet oka were coches! gout of ball of won wich was bef 8 aaa ete ameter mas nota cocted out ofa hal of wok whch was SUR, SALE We mos rss to equate mater and objec, and refuse oink ee a anal ffl isnot Crocheting. He Kiting wei, 2 oe socks Thema must pre-e the min. and ane Tut aes made camo pre-e eatin. "Se ety, 957 5. See tid pp 0-1, 61 Be ecture om Lagical atom, X11 eit in Loge and ‘rte by. Math eden, 1958 pp. 254, and. ye "Calegne” ‘cnn of te Aran Soci 937-198. ee icnton of Poces a Things Cymponam with Mj. Wood), chaperone ° arian Sc ian Scie spp. ok OO 96, whe’ ein Sete nica of cry ais onl ceo of erence, ad i stom a Bonly whet we a tht tt fosome inne ne so 4 oy na ws ow Sa ot sme ne é ch kins ae ese Ge ky emt eo ae somone le pony for he purpose which put tea nerd hte oly ev hae ey eet rte de poe of pg chal ab