THE REGRESS OF PURE POWERS?

Abstract

Dispositional monism is the view that natural properties and relations are ‘pure powers’. It is often objected that dispositional monism involves some kind of vicious or otherwise unpalatable regress or circularity. I examine ways of making this objection precise. The most pressing interpretation is that the theory fails to make the identities of powers determinate. I demonstrate that this objection is in error. It does, however, put certain constraints on what the structure of fundamental properties is like. I show what a satisfactory structure would be.