TY - JOUR
T1 - Fields and the intelligibility of contact action
AU - Sherry, David
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 2015.
PY - 2015/7/17
Y1 - 2015/7/17
N2 - This article concerns arguments for the impossibility of contact action and, subsequently, the use of force fields to render intelligible apparent cases of contact action. I argue that instead of unraveling the mystery of contact action, fields only deepen the mystery. Further, I show that there is a confusion underlying arguments for the impossibility of contact and present an analysis of contact, based upon Körner's treatment of empirical continuity, which restores intelligibility to apparent cases of contact action.
AB - This article concerns arguments for the impossibility of contact action and, subsequently, the use of force fields to render intelligible apparent cases of contact action. I argue that instead of unraveling the mystery of contact action, fields only deepen the mystery. Further, I show that there is a confusion underlying arguments for the impossibility of contact and present an analysis of contact, based upon Körner's treatment of empirical continuity, which restores intelligibility to apparent cases of contact action.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84931036445&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84931036445&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0031819115000157
DO - 10.1017/S0031819115000157
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84931036445
SN - 0031-8191
VL - 90
SP - 457
EP - 477
JO - Philosophy
JF - Philosophy
IS - 3
ER -