Universals, Concepts and Qualities: New Essays on the Meaning of PredicatesP. F. Strawson, Arindam Chakrabarti Are there universal properties grounding our sense of resemblance or qualitative identity among a number of distinct things or events which appear to form a class, a type or a kind of some other sort? Do universals such as humanness, triangularity, or being an Oak exist? Is being a laptop computer a universal, which has only recently come into existence? Do predicate expressions, adjectives or abstract nouns refer to objective properties or cognitive contents called concepts? The problem of universals has been at the centre of ancient, medieval, Western, and Indian metaphysics. After the logico-linguistic turn in philosophy, this problem re-surfaced in the discourse on the meaning of predicate expressions on the one hand and in the theories of concepts on the other. |
Contents
Strawson on Universals | 17 |
Pranab Kumar | 49 |
An Examination of P K Sens Theory | 67 |
Buddhist Nominalism and Desert Ornithology | 91 |
The First Thousand Years After Plato | 105 |
Conceptualism | 127 |
The Concept Horse | 155 |
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Universals, Concepts and Qualities: New Essays on the Meaning of Predicates P.F. Strawson Limited preview - 2017 |
Common terms and phrases
abstract entities abstract particulars argue argument Aristotelian Aristotle Aristotle's ascribes Bolzano Buddhist Nominalist called causal characterizing universals claim cognitive complex complex predicates concept horse contingent copula criterion of identity Descriptive Metaphysics differing with respect distinction Dummett example exemplifies existence explain fact first-level Frege Fregean function gold grammatical idea Identity of Indiscernibles individual instances instantiation intensional introduced intuition kind Künne language linguistic logical meaning metaphysics nature nominalism noun ontological commitment open sentence P.F. Strawson perception philosophers Plato position possible predicative expressions premiss problem of universals Proclus proper name properties of identity prototype theories qualities quantification question Quine Ramsey Ramsey's realist reason recognize reference relation role semantic value Sen's sense singular term Socrates Socrates is wise sort sortal universal stand Syrianus theory of universals things thought trivializing properties tropes true truth truth-conditions variables version of PII virtue wisdom