Locke's place-time-kind principle¶
Locke's place–time–kind principle, also called Locke's thesis, is a claim in the philosophy of John Locke that no two things of the same kind can occupy the same place at the same time, and that no single thing can be in two places at once.
Core Idea¶
Locke's place-time-kind principle is treated here as the recurring socialscienceshumanitiesarts identity summarized by this source-grounded definition: Locke's place–time–kind principle, also called Locke's thesis, is a claim in the philosophy of John Locke that no two things of the same kind can occupy the same place at the same time, and that no single thing can be in two places at once. Locke's place–time–kind principle, also called Locke's thesis, is a claim in the philosophy of John Locke that no.
Scope of Application¶
-
Role in Locke's philosophyFormulation. That which has made the difficulty about this relation, has been the little care and attention used in having precise notions of the things to which it is attributed.
-
Interpretations. Gideon Yaffe connects the principle to Locke's account of existence over time and to Locke's treatment of "place" as relative to our purposes and to the kind under which we are.
-
Counterexamples. Spolaore calls these counterexamples "conditional" because, on his presentation, they follow from commitments that many opponents of the stronger anti-coincidence principle already accept; rejecting them would require either denying the persistence.
-
Documented setting. In contemporary discussions of Locke, the principle is often used to summarize and interpret the opening of his chapter "Of Identity and Diversity" in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690).
-
Documented setting. In Locke's own presentation, the principle functions as part of his account of identity and individuation: when we ask whether something is "the same," we refer it to a determinate time.
Clarity¶
A clear use of Locke's place-time-kind principle names the carrier, the operative relation, and the conditions under which the source treats the identity as present. The minimal definition is Locke's place–time–kind principle, also called Locke's thesis, is a claim in the philosophy of John Locke that no two things of the same kind can occupy the same place at the same time, and that no single thing can.
Manages Complexity¶
Locke's place-time-kind principle compresses multiple socialscienceshumanitiesarts details into a stable diagnostic relation. The source shows both the central mechanism—he defines solidity by appeal to resistance: a body resists "the entrance of any other body into the place it possesses, till it has left it.".—and the practical consequence—that which has made the difficulty about this relation, has been the little care and attention used in having precise notions.
Abstract Reasoning¶
- Type the carrier. Identify the socialscienceshumanitiesarts entities to which the claim applies.
- State the relation. Use the source-grounded identity: Locke's place–time–kind principle, also called Locke's thesis, is a claim in the philosophy of John Locke that no two things of the same kind can occupy the same place at the same time, and that no single thing can be in two places at once.
- Check operation and conditions.
Knowledge Transfer¶
Within the home domain. Knowledge about Locke's place-time-kind principle transfers literally when a new case preserves the same carrier type, relation, and recognition test. That which has made the difficulty about this relation, has been the little care and attention used in having precise notions of the things to which it is attributed. Gideon Yaffe connects the principle to Locke's account of existence over time.
Relationships to Other Abstractions¶
Current abstraction Locke's place-time-kind principle Domain-specific
Parents (1) — more general patterns this builds on
-
Locke's place-time-kind principle is a kind of Criteria of Individuation Prime
Locke's principle is precisely a criterion of individuation: same kind plus same place-time fixes numerical identity.
Hierarchy path (1) — routes to 1 parentless root
- Locke's place-time-kind principle → Criteria of Individuation
Neighborhood in Abstraction Space¶
Locke's place-time-kind principle sits in a moderately populated region (52nd percentile for distinctiveness): it has near-neighbors but no dense thicket of look-alikes.
Family — Philosophical Concepts & Thought Experiments (27 abstractions)
Nearest neighbors
- Rooted product of graphs — 0.88
- Surface-area-to-volume ratio — 0.86
- 'I' and the 'me' — 0.86
- Energeia — 0.85
- Filling radius — 0.85
Computed from structural-signature embeddings · 2026-10-08