The joint factory

For "articulationrealism", the world has an objective, privileged structure. Opposed to this is the "shapeless heap" or " cookie-cutter " model : we could "cut up" reality in multiple ways, all of which are metaphysically equal. My aim will be to establish how an egalitarian position of the latter kind can be defended, minusthe anti-realistimplications . I will first consider in what sense Goodman'sfamous "vleu" problem provides a foundation for the idea that all properties orkinds are metaphysically equal. By examining a particular response to the problem of material composition (mereological universalism), I will then show that this egalitarianism can be extended to material entities. Finally, I propose to show why such a position does not imply adherence to a form of metaphysical anti-realism, deflationism or relativism.