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Single Idea 20338

[filed under theme 15. Nature of Minds / C. Capacities of Minds / 4. Objectification ]

Full Idea

Much of the time we think and talk of a type as though it were itself a kind of token.

Clarification

if I write 'and and' that is two tokens of one type

Gist of Idea

We often treat a type as if it were a sort of token

Source

Richard Wollheim (Art and Its Objects [1968], 35)

Book Ref

Wollheim,Richard: 'Art and Its Objects' [Penguin 1975], p.92


A Reaction

A helpful way of connecting what I call 'objectification' to the more conventional modern philosophical vocabulary. Thus I might claim that beauty is superior to truth, as if they were two tokens.


The 6 ideas with the same theme [tendency to treat properties and concepts as objects]:

Every external object or internal idea suggests to us the idea of unity [Locke]
The mind can make a unity out of anything, no matter how diverse [Locke]
We often treat a type as if it were a sort of token [Wollheim]
Seeing a group of soldiers as an army is irresistible, in ontology and explanation [Wiggins]
Our minds are at their best when reasoning about objects [Hofweber]
Maybe the only way we can think about a domain is by dividing it up into objects [Ladyman/Ross]