Dear Cory, (01)
> Matthew,
> So is this concept of process subsume the idea of identity?
> That is, is
> everything that continues over time a "process" or can there
> be "things"
> with identity that are not process? (02)
MW: That's a good question. Ontologically, I'm inclined to think
everything is a process, but some processes have a structure we
consider to be physical objects. So Mt Everest looks like a pretty
solid physical object on our timescale, but on a geological
timescale it is a wave in the earth's crust. A grain of sand looks
pretty inert, but inside there are atoms vibrating in a lattice. (03)
MW: Epistemologically, that these things may be true is usually
not interesting, except perhaps in the case of living things. (04)
> Does a process have identity? (05)
MW: In 4D certainly. A process has a spatio-temporal extent, and
the identity of all objects in 4D (in our version at least) is
extensional. (06)
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