Abstract

Systems whose attributes are independent of the Physical World, or entities in the physical world whose defining attributes are independent of their physical instantiation.

Mathematical theorems and information remain true regardless of physical substrate. Abstract entities are Real if they feature in our explanations of reality.

Connections

• •Contrasts with the Physical World — abstract things are substrate-independent
• •Abstract entities count as Real when they appear in explanations
• •Explanatory knowledge can describe both abstract and physical phenomena
• •Knowledge itself is abstract information that solves problems
• •Emergence produces phenomena that can be understood abstractly, independent of lower-level details