A sculpture is currently the most expensive artwork in the gallery. Is 'being the most expensive artwork in the gallery' an intrinsic or extrinsic property of the sculpture, and why?
AIntrinsic — it reflects the artwork's inherent aesthetic quality
BExtrinsic — it depends on the sculpture's relations to other artworks and to buyers' valuations
CIntrinsic — monetary value is a fixed feature of the object itself
DExtrinsic — all economic properties are trivially relational and therefore philosophically unimportant
Whether a sculpture is the most expensive artwork in a gallery depends entirely on what other artworks are in the gallery and what valuations people assign them. Remove the other artworks, or change buyers' preferences, and the property disappears — the sculpture itself hasn't changed at all. This is the hallmark of an extrinsic property: it holds in virtue of relations to other things, not in virtue of how the object is internally. A perfect duplicate of the sculpture placed in a different gallery might not be the most expensive artwork there.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
A philosopher argues: 'This ball's color is contingent — it could have been painted differently — so its color cannot be an intrinsic property.' Is this reasoning correct?
AYes — intrinsic properties must also be essential properties that the object has in every possible world
BNo — a property can be intrinsic (independent of surroundings) without being essential; the ball's color depends on how it itself is, not on its relations, even if it could have been otherwise
CYes — contingent properties are by definition relational, since they depend on external causes
DNo — color is always extrinsic because it is perceived by external observers
Intrinsic and essential are distinct concepts that are frequently conflated. An intrinsic property is one a thing has purely in virtue of how it itself is, independent of its surroundings. An essential property is one a thing has in every possible world where it exists. A ball's color is intrinsic — it doesn't depend on what else exists in the universe — but it is not essential, since the ball could have been painted differently. A thing can have an intrinsic property contingently.
Question 3 True / False
If two objects are perfect duplicates, they is expected to share most their properties — both intrinsic and extrinsic.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Lewis's duplication criterion says duplicates share all intrinsic properties — that is precisely what makes them duplicates. But extrinsic properties can differ between duplicates. Two perfect physical copies of the same sculpture can be in different cities (different location), owned by different people (different ownership), and be worth different amounts (different market value). Their internal nature is identical; their relational properties are not. This is why the intrinsic/extrinsic distinction matters: duplicates are identical in their internal natures but can occupy entirely different relational situations.
Question 4 True / False
A thing's mass is an intrinsic property because it does not change depending on what other objects exist in the thing's surroundings.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
Mass is the standard textbook example of an intrinsic property. A ball has its mass whether it exists alone in the universe or surrounded by other objects. A perfect duplicate of the ball — same internal structure in every respect — must have the same mass. This independence from surroundings is exactly what intrinsicality means. Contrast this with 'being the heaviest object in the room,' which changes depending on what else is in the room.
Question 5 Short Answer
State Lewis's duplication criterion for intrinsicality and explain why it faces a circularity problem.
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Lewis defines an intrinsic property as one shared by all perfect duplicates: P is intrinsic if and only if no two duplicates differ with respect to P. Two objects are duplicates if they share all their intrinsic properties. The circularity problem is that duplication is defined in terms of intrinsicality, and intrinsicality is defined in terms of duplication — each concept presupposes the other. You cannot use the criterion to determine which properties are intrinsic without already knowing which properties are intrinsic to specify what makes two objects duplicates.
Langton and Lewis attempted to escape the circularity by defining intrinsicality using 'natural properties' and scenarios involving lonely objects (existing alone) versus accompanied objects (existing alongside others). The circularity problem reveals that the intuitive concept of intrinsicality — what a thing is 'in itself' — is harder to make precise than it first appears.