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stranger
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stranger
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Ok, here's a quotation from the Rescher article (On Explaining Existence) that maybe clarifies it a little, but I'm still not sure I understand the word in and of itself. According to Rescher, a hylarchic principle is one which "...grounds the existence of things not in preexisting things but rather in a functional principle of some sort--a specifically nonsubstanival state of affairs...".
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Carpal Tunnel
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Ah bon, that clears that right up then. Righto, nicely done ole chap. 
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Carpal Tunnel
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it seems we're sort of on the right track, but missing the boat (to mix metaphors); so here's OED2:
hylarchic - Obs.
[ad. Gr. *** f. *** matter + *** to rule. Cf. F. hylarchique.]
Ruling over matter.
1676 H. More Remarks Contents bvijb, Water is+suspended in Pumps+by Gravitation upwards, more expresly here explained, and at last resolved into the Hylarchick Principle. Ibid. 186 The Hylarchick Spirit of the world holds strong and entire still. 1713 Berkeley Hylas & Phil. iii. Wks. 1871 I. 355 What difficulties concerning entity in abstract, substantial forms, hylarchic principles.
So †hy"larchical a. Obs.
1676 [see hylostatical]. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. v. 668 Some other substance besides Body, such as is self active and hylarchical, or hath a natural power of ruling over matter. 1681 H. Hallywell Melampron. 70 (T.) This hylarchical principle, or plastick nature.
The Berkeley citation is perhaps the most enlightening, as Berkeley was a philosopher who denied the existence of matter; he maintained that material objects only exist through being perceived. To the objection that, in that case, a tree would cease to exist if no one was looking at it [sound familiar?], he replied that God always perceives everything -- this, in turn, he uses as an argument for the existence of God. Ronald Knox summed this up with a limerick:
There was a young man who said, "God
Must think it exceedingly odd
If he finds that this tree
Continues to be
When there's no one about in the Quad."
Dear Sir: Your astonishment's odd;
I am always about in the Quad.
And that's why the tree
Will continue to be,
Since observed by
Yours faithfully,
GOD.
p.s. - bill, in the dialogues of Philonous and Hylas, Philonous represents Berkeley and his philosophy.
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Carpal Tunnel
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"-a specifically nonsubstanival state of affairs...".
Dear joelsephus: Is that a typo? If not, please do us a favor and define it.
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'nonsubstantial' would certainly fit into this context.
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journeyman
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journeyman
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Gee, Hyla, what would you sell?
Matter, of course.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Re tsuwm's pair of limericks: It gives me great pleasure to be able to tweak the master by proclaiming, "YART".  (YCLIU, searching "Dear Sir".) "I live in hope someday to see Myself, nigh erudite as thee."
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Carpal Tunnel
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yart? or crossthread? it just doesn't matter....
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addict
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addict
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a tree would cease to exist if no one was looking at it [sound familiar?]
Reminds me of a favorite variation on this theme:
"If a man is talking by himself in the forest, is he still wrong?"
And back to our regularly interrupted thread-theme:
I know some of the work of Berkeley (and I live in the city that bears his name, in CA), but mostly in summary form rather than having read it. I'm curious why Berkeley chose Hylas as one of the participants in his dialogues - he was a friend of Hercules who, whilst on a journey with the strong fella, went to a spring to get some water and was bewitched/seduced by the nymph or nymphs who lived in the spring, who were themselves bewitched by his good looks. He remained with the nymphs, lost forever to the world of mortals.
How does this history make him appropriate to take the role of the proponent of the independent existence of matter in the Berkeley dialogues? Or is the name just Berkeley's equivalent of Joe Schmoe? Or perhaps he sees Hylas' faith in the existence of matter as akin to his being entranced by the mythical nymphs? Or perhaps I should cease all the speculatin' and hand-wavin'?
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