Single Idea 10417

[catalogued under 8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 5. Natural Properties]

Full Idea

'Elementarism' is the view that there are first-order properties, but that there are no properties of any higher-order. There are first-order properties like various shades of red, but there is no higher-order property, like 'being a colour'.

Gist of Idea

There are only first-order properties ('red'), and none of higher-order ('coloured')

Source

Chris Swoyer (Properties [2000], 7.1)

Book Reference

'Stanford Online Encyclopaedia of Philosophy', ed/tr. Stanford University [plato.stanford.edu], p.44


A Reaction

[He cites Bergmann 1968] Interesting. Presumably the programme is naturalistic (and hence congenial to me), and generalisations about properties are conceptual, while the properties themselves are natural.