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9. Objects / E. Objects over Time / 11. End of an Object

[passing-away of a substance or object]

3 ideas
12290 Destruction is dissolution of essence [Aristotle]
     Full Idea: Destruction is a dissolution of essence.
     From: Aristotle (Topics [c.331 BCE], 153b30)
     A reaction: [plucked from context!] I can't think of a better way to define destruction, in order to distinguish it from damage. A vase is destroyed when its essential function cannot be recovered.
17205 Only an external cause can destroy something [Spinoza]
     Full Idea: A thing cannot be destroyed except by an external cause.
     From: Baruch de Spinoza (The Ethics [1675], III Pr 04)
12303 Within the four types of change, essential attributes are those whose loss means destruction [Copi]
     Full Idea: If we can distinguish the different kinds of change (alteration, locomotion, growth, diminution), then we can say that a given attribute is essential to an object if its loss would result in the destruction of that object.
     From: Irving M. Copi (Essence and Accident [1954], p.707-8)
     A reaction: As Copi is aware, this is a necessary condition for a property for essence, but not sufficient. If an attribute were necessary but non-essential, its loss would also be destruction. We say the essential attributes must also have some explanatory role.