For Aristotle, functions inhered in objects; i.e. the function of holding wine is an essential property of a cup. And, as you suggest, that function is eternal in the abstract, although its instantiations in particular cups is impermanent.
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Replying to @Meaningness
But, (imo) this function does not inhere in the cup. It is an interaction among the cup, the wine, and the drinker.
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Replying to @Meaningness
If all humans die next week as a consequence of the Anthrax Leprosy Mu epidemic, former cups will no longer function as cups. Arguably, they will no longer *be* cups; they’ll just be random blobs of silicon-aluminum oxide.
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Replying to @Meaningness
So, the function of a cup is not eternal; once we’re extinct, it’ll return to the Dharmakaya, as all phenomena do.
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Replying to @Meaningness
Also, the emptiness of a cup is only a matter of imputation. There are air molecules in it, and other tiny bits of stuff, so it is not absolutely empty. Relative emptiness of this sort is not the same thing as śunyata; only a heuristically useful analog for it.
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Replying to @Meaningness
If śunyata is absence of essential nature, and all things are empty in this sense, then Plato’s theory of ideas is utterly wrong. Because the theory was that everything has an eternal, essential nature.
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Replying to @Meaningness
In fact, it’s historically plausible that Nagarjuna was specifically refuting Platonism. Around that time, there was a lot more dialog between Greek and Indian philosophy than most people realize.
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Replying to @Meaningness
In any case, Diogenes’ criticism of Platonic eternalism seems at least somewhat analogous to Nagarjuna’s criticism of Brahmanic eternalism: no eternal, essential nature. But it’s probably just a coincidence that he also used the word “emptiness.”
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Replying to @Meaningness
What I liked in your response was that you grabbed this intriguing coincidence and ran with it!
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Replying to @Meaningness
I really appreciate having had this opportunity to exchange ideas with you.
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Sure! Maybe we can go into more depth in some other venue someday. Twitter is not so great for substantive discussions, by and large.
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