Four Theories of Pure Dispositions (original) (raw)

The dispositional properties encountered in everyday experience seem to have causal bases in other properties, e.g., the microstructure of a vase is the causal basis of its fragility. In contrast, the Pure Dispositions Thesis maintains that some dispositions require no causal basis. This thesis faces the Problem of Being: without a causal basis, there appears to be no grounds for the existence of pure dispositions. This paper establishes criteria for evaluating the problem, critically examines four theories of the being of pure dispositions, and develops an explanation of how a pure disposition grounds itself via its own power. 1 Pure Dispositions and the Problem of Being According to one theory of dispositions, any dispositional property requires a causal basis consisting of one or more categorical properties (e.g., see Prior, Pargetter, and Jackson 1982). This claim excludes the metaphysical possibility of pure dispositional properties, or dispositions without causal bases in any ...

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