| Physicalism in philosophy of science depends upon establishing inter-theoretic connections, whether they be type identities, token identities or many-one relations. Given a clear understanding of the nature of properties, it can be seen that such connections are not forthcoming. This does not entail, however, that we must give up on physicalism. An alternative is to establish physicalism by showing that the properties in question satisfy our best physical laws. Considerations that lead to this proposal also entail that many of the questions previously associated with physicalism, questions regarding explanation, defining properties and identifying kinds, must now be seen as independent and in need of their own, distinct answers. |
