Occasions of Identity: A Study in the Metaphysics of Persistence, Change, and Sameness

Occasions of Identity is an exploration of timeless philosophical issues about persistence, change, time, and sameness. André Gallois offers a critical survey of various rival views about the nature of identity and change, and puts forward his own original theory. He supports the idea of occasional identities, arguing that it is coherent and helpful to suppose that things can be identical at one time but distinct at another. Gallois defends this view, demonstrating 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.