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Because such properties are individuated with reference to patterns in a normal environment that extends beyond the surfaces of the individuals that instantiate those properties, the properties do not in general supervene on the constituents of those individuals. Consequently, the causal powers relevant to individuating the properties of one such science need not supervene on the causal powers of the properties of a lower-level science. Further, two individuals with the same causal powers as recognized by the lower-level science may have different causal powers when assessed from within the higher-level science.

9 What, then, is the new, narrow, supposed scientifically respectable counterpart to the more ordinary kind of content? The new notion of narrow content is defined as a function from contexts to broad content. On this view, intrinsic physical duplicates necessarily have the same narrow psychological properties, but have the same broad psychological properties only if their surrounding environments are relevantly similar; if intrinsic physical duplicates are in relevantly different contexts, though, they will have different broad psychological properties – as consideration of counterfactual scenarios such as those detailed in the previous section illustrates.

47). Consider the thought that silver is Jk, where “Jk” is shorthand for the chemical formula of twilver, one of the possible metals that is distinct from silver but that S cannot distinguish from it. The thought is false – indeed its content states a metaphysical impossibility, given that silver is necessarily Ag. Nevertheless, the content of the thought states an epistemic possibility, since no amount of a priori reasoning can reveal the chemical formula of silver and hence no amount of a priori reasoning can reveal that silver is not Jk.