structure for all areas    |     expand these ideas

18. Thought / E. Abstraction / 6. Abstracta by Conflation

[treating abstractions as actually sets or universals]

5 ideas
Abstracta can be causal: sets can be causes or effects; there can be universal effects; events may be sets [Lewis]
If abstractions are non-spatial, then both sets and universals seem to have locations [Lewis]
If we can abstract the extrinsic relations and features of objects, abstraction isn't universals or tropes [Lewis]
If universals or tropes are parts of things, then abstraction picks out those parts [Lewis]
Conflating abstractions with either sets or universals is a big claim, needing a big defence [Rosen]