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Full Idea
Properties are abundant, numbering at least beth-3 for properties of individuals alone; they are suited to serve as semantic values of arbitrarily complex predicates and gerunds, and higher-order variables. (If there are universals, they are sparse).
Gist of Idea
Properties are very abundant (unlike universals), and are used for semantics and higher-order variables
Source
David Lewis (Events [1986], II n2)
Book Ref
Lewis,David: 'Philosophical Papers Vol.2' [OUP 1986], p.244
A Reaction
To me this is an outrageous hijacking of the notion of property which is needed for explaining the natural world. He seems to be talking about predicates. He wants to leave me with his silly universals - well I don't want them, thank you.
| 15561 | The events that suit semantics may not be the events that suit causation [Lewis] |
| 15562 | Causation is a general relation derived from instances of causal dependence [Lewis] |
| 15564 | An event is a property of a unique space-time region [Lewis] |
| 15563 | Properties are very abundant (unlike universals), and are used for semantics and higher-order variables [Lewis] |
| 15565 | Events have inbuilt essences, as necessary conditions for their occurrence [Lewis] |
| 15566 | Events are classes, and so there is a mereology of their parts [Lewis] |
| 15567 | Some events involve no change; they must, because causal histories involve unchanges [Lewis] |