Philosophy 1020 Lecture Notes - Nominalism, Ellipse

• School: Western University
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: Philosophy 1020
• Professor: John Thorp

Document Summary

Nominalism (november 10, 2011: some regrettable language: two directly contrary opposite meanings of realism Concrete particulars are the real things: nominalism: the really real things are concrete particulars (this horse, that table, that mountain . ) The idea that universal (dog, horse, tree) are not real existent thing, but just words. The real things are the concrete particulars, the individuals (this horse, that tree) that patch. Nominalism challenges the idea that ideas, forms exist . The idea that universal are real public objects: hume"s two propositions: The mind cannot form any notion of quantity or quality without forming a precise notion of the degrees of each . Any triangle you think of has got to be of one of these types. Yet the universal triangle has to be indeterminate. [the] application of ideas beyond their nature proceeds from our collecting all their possible degrees of quantity and quality in such an imperfect manner as may serve the purposes of life .