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Full Idea
Generality is often necessary for capturing the essence of a particular.
Gist of Idea
Particular essence is often captured by generality
Source
Mark Steiner (Mathematical Explanation [1978], p.36)
Book Ref
'Philosophy of Mathematics: anthology', ed/tr. Jacquette,Dale [Blackwell 2002], p.36
A Reaction
The most powerful features of an entity are probably those which are universal, like intelligence or physical strength in a human. Those characteristics are powerful because they compete with the same characteristic in others (perhaps?).
| 13229 | Maybe an instance of a generalisation is more explanatory than the particular case [Steiner,M] |
| 13231 | Explanatory proofs rest on 'characterizing properties' of entities or structure [Steiner,M] |
| 13230 | Particular essence is often captured by generality [Steiner,M] |