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Full Idea
A simple way to think about internal relations is: if R internally relates a and b, then, if you have a and b, you thereby have R. If you have six and you have five, you thereby have six's being greater than five.
Gist of Idea
If R internally relates a and b, and you have a and b, you thereby have R
Source
John Heil (Relations [2009], 'External')
Book Ref
'Routledge Companion to Metaphysics', ed/tr. Le Poidevin/Simons etc [Routledge 2012], p.314
A Reaction
This seems to work a lot better for abstracta than for physical objects, where I am struggling to think of a parallel example. Parenthood? Temporal relations between things? Acorn and oak?
Related Idea
Idea 21351 Truthmaking is a clear example of an internal relation [Heil]
| 21339 | We want the ontology of relations, not just a formal way of specifying them [Heil] |
| 21351 | Truthmaking is a clear example of an internal relation [Heil] |
| 21350 | If properties are powers, then causal relations are internal relations [Heil] |
| 21344 | If R internally relates a and b, and you have a and b, you thereby have R [Heil] |
| 21349 | Two people are indirectly related by height; the direct relation is internal, between properties [Heil] |
| 21348 | In the case of 5 and 6, their relational truthmaker is just the numbers [Heil] |
| 21340 | Maybe all the other features of the world can be reduced to relations [Heil] |