Occasions of Identity - A Study in the Metaphysics of Persistence, Change and Sameness (Hardcover)

André Gallois explores timeless philosophical issues about persistence, change, time, and sameness, offers a critical survey of various rival views, and puts forward his own original and unorthodox theory about the nature of identity and change. He shows that it is coherent and helpful to suppose that things can be identical at one time, but distinct at another--in other words, that there are genuine occasional identities. Gallois defends this view against objections, demonstrates how it can solve puzzles about persistence dating back to the Ancient Greeks, and investigates the metaphysical consequences of rejecting the necessity and eternity of identities.