洛克论个体化原则

洛克的个体化原则可以简便地概括为三个要素:事物所处的时、空位置和所属的种类。然而,如果我们严格遵循这一原则来确认个体,就会发现,它允许在同一地点、同一时间存在两个或多个不同种类的个体。有些学者认为这些重合存在的个体表明了洛克哲学的内在矛盾。为此,本文将通过考察洛克的抽象观念理论,来论证这种有悖日常直观的重合存在是由于混淆两种个体的严格意义和日常意义而造成的。进而,结合同一性的讨论语境,我们将表明,只有在其严格意义上,洛克的同一性理论才是可理解的。

Locke's Principle of Individuation

According to Locke, we identify an individual by virtue of its spatio temporal location and the kind which it belongs to. However, this principle of individuation allows two individuals to exist in the same place at the same time, as long as they are from two kinds. These individuals are so called coincident beings. In support of the interpretation of such coincident being, we will re interpret Locke''s principle of individuation in terms of his distinction between philosophical and ordinary languages