ABSTRACT
Most new mechanists agree that mechanisms are made of two kinds of components. The first kind of components are material objects that are variously called entities, parts, or component parts. The second kind of components are variously called activities, interactions, or operations. This chapter examines how can the two kinds of mechanistic components be further characterized and what are their major features and what distinguishes them from each other. It reviews in what sense are the two kinds of mechanistic components mutually dependent. The chapter presents different criteria for individuating the components of mechanisms–natural boundaries, robustness/stability, strength of interactions, mutual manipulability, and INUS conditions–and discusses their merits and limitations. It also examines whether such an antirealistic move is inevitable and which arguments can be offered to defend the realistic view that mechanisms exist in nature and have real boundaries and a determined set of components.
