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  3. Universals
  • This book is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core
  • Cited by 78
Publisher:
Acumen Publishing
Online publication date:
February 2013
Print publication year:
2001
Online ISBN:
9781844653270
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9781844653270
Subjects:
Philosophy: General Interest, Philosophy
Series:
Central Problems of Philosophy
Information

Book description

Things are particulars and their qualities are universals, but do universals have an existence distinct from the particular things describable by those terms? And what must be their nature if they do? This book provides a careful and assured survey of the central issues of debate surrounding universals, in particular those issues that have been a crucial part of the emergence of contemporary analytic ontology. The book begins with a taxonomy of extreme nominalist, moderate nominalist, and realist positions on properties, and outlines the way each handles the phenomena of predication, resemblance, and abstract reference. The debate about properties and philosophical naturalism is also examined. Different forms of extreme nominalism, moderate nominalism, and minimalist realism are critiqued. Later chapters defend a traditional realist view of universals and examine the objections to realism from various infinite regresses, the difficulties in stating identity conditions for properties, and problems with realist accounts of knowledge of abstract objects. In addition the debate between Platonists and Aristotelians is examined alongside a discussion of the relationship between properties and an adequate theory of existence. The book's final chapter explores the problem of individuating particulars. The book makes accessible a difficult topic without blunting the sophistication of argument required by a more advanced readership.

Reviews

"A comprehensive treatment of the problem of universals from both a historical and present-day perspective, surveying all of the leading approaches and portraying their strengths and weaknesses in an even-handed way. A worthy contribution to the literature on this topic."

E. J. Lowe

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