Metaphysics Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Others === [[Identity (philosophy)|Identity]] is a relation that every entity has to itself as a form of sameness. It refers to numerical identity when the very same entity is involved, as in the statement "the [[morning star]] is the evening star". In a slightly different sense, it encompasses qualitative identity, also called ''exact similarity'' and ''indiscernibility'', which is the case when two distinct entities are exactly alike, such as perfect identical twins.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Kirwan|2005|pp=417β418}} | {{harvnb|Noonan|Curtis|2022|loc=Lead Section}} }}</ref> The principle of the indiscernibility of identicals is widely accepted and holds that numerically identical entities exactly resemble one another. The converse principle, known as [[identity of indiscernibles]], is more controversial and states that two entities are numerically identical if they exactly resemble one another.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Sleigh|2005|p=418}} | {{harvnb|Kirwan|2005|pp=417β418}} | {{harvnb|Noonan|Curtis|2022|loc=Β§ 2. The Logic of Identity}} }}</ref> Another distinction is between synchronic and diachronic identity. Synchronic identity relates an entity to itself at the same time while diachronic identity is about the same entity at different times, as in statements like "the table I bought last year is the same as the table in my dining room now".<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gallois|2016|loc=Β§ 2.1 Diachronic and Synchronic Identity}} | {{harvnb|Noonan|Curtis|2022|loc=Lead Section, Β§ 5. Identity Over Time}} }}</ref> [[Personal identity]] is a related topic in metaphysics that uses the term ''identity'' in a slightly different sense and concerns questions like what [[personhood]] is or what makes someone a person.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Noonan|Curtis|2022|loc=Lead Section}} | {{harvnb|Olson|2023|loc=Lead Section, Β§ 1. The Problems of Personal Identity}} | {{harvnb|Korfmacher}} }}</ref> Various contemporary metaphysicians rely on the concepts of [[truth]] and [[Truthmaker theory|truthmakers]] to conduct their inquiry.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Tallant|2017|pp=1β4}} | {{harvnb|Koons|Pickavance|2015|pp=15β17}} }}</ref> Truth is a property of linguistic statements or mental representations that are in accord with reality. A truthmaker of a statement is the entity whose existence makes the statement true.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Lowe|2005a|p=926}} | {{harvnb|Imaguire|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=X4dnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA34 34]}} | {{harvnb|Tallant|2017|pp=1β4}} | {{harvnb|Koons|Pickavance|2015|pp=15β17}} | {{harvnb|Asay|2020|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nRXeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 11]}} }}</ref> For example, the statement "a tomato is red" is true because there exists a red tomato as its truthmaker.<ref>{{harvnb|Tallant|2017|p=1}}</ref> Based on this observation, it is possible to pursue metaphysical research by asking what the truthmakers of statements are, with different areas of metaphysics being dedicated to different types of statements. According to this view, modal metaphysics asks what makes statements about what is possible and necessary true while the metaphysics of time is interested in the truthmakers of temporal statements about the past, present, and future.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Tallant|2017|pp=1β4, 163β165}} | {{harvnb|Koons|Pickavance|2015|pp=15β17, 154}} }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page