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Single Idea 16639
[filed under theme 8. Modes of Existence / E. Nominalism / 1. Nominalism / a. Nominalism
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Full Idea
Nothing truly exists in nature beyond individual bodies.
Gist of Idea
Only individual bodies exist
Source
Francis Bacon (The New Organon [1620]), quoted by Robert Pasnau - Metaphysical Themes 1274-1671 182
Book Ref
Pasnau,Robert: 'Metaphysical Themes 1274-1671' [OUP 2011], p.182
A Reaction
[Unusually, Pasnau gives no reference in the text; possibly II:1-2] What this leaves out, from even an auster nominalist ontology, is undifferentiated stuff like water. Even electrons don't seem quite distinct from one another.
Related Ideas
Idea 7717
All things that exist are particulars [Locke]
Idea 21400
Stoics avoided universals by paraphrasing 'Man is...' as 'If something is a man, then it is...' [Stoic school, by Long]
The
17 ideas
with the same theme
[general ideas about nominalism]:
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15386
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If only the singular exists, science is impossible, as that relies on true generalities
[Duns Scotus, by Panaccio]
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15387
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If things were singular they would only differ numerically, but horse and tulip differ more than that
[Duns Scotus, by Panaccio]
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16639
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Only individual bodies exist
[Bacon]
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8494
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Obviously 'Socrates is wise' and 'Socrates has wisdom' express the same fact
[Ramsey]
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10151
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I am a deeply convinced nominalist
[Tarski]
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8505
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Refusal to explain why different tokens are of the same type is to be an ostrich
[Armstrong]
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18957
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Nominalism only makes sense if it is materialist
[Putnam]
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10534
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'Nominalism' used to mean denial of universals, but now means denial of abstract objects
[Dummett]
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9880
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Nominalism assumes unmediated mental contact with objects
[Dummett]
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11913
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For nominalists, predicate extensions are inexplicable facts
[Molnar]
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11962
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Nominalists only accept first-order logic
[Molnar]
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10744
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Nominalism can reject abstractions, or universals, or sets
[Oliver]
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8961
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Nominalists are motivated by Ockham's Razor and a distrust of unobservables
[Hoffman/Rosenkrantz]
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4482
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Austere nominalism has to take a host of things (like being red, or human) as primitive
[Loux]
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21633
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Nominalists suspect that properties etc are our projections, and could have been different
[Williamson]
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9435
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A 'porridge' nominalist thinks we just divide reality in any way that suits us
[Mumford]
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4459
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Moderate nominalism attempts to embrace the existence of properties while avoiding universals
[Moreland]
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