Ideas from 'Properties' by David M. Armstrong [1992], by Theme Structure
[found in 'Properties' (ed/tr Mellor,D.H. /Oliver,A) [OUP 1997,0-19-875176-1]].
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expand these ideas
2. Reason / B. Laws of Thought / 6. Ockham's Razor
4036
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What matters is not how many entities we postulate, but how many kinds of entities [Mellor/Oliver]
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8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 2. Need for Properties
15754
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Without properties we would be unable to express the laws of nature
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8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 10. Properties as Predicates
4034
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Whether we apply 'cold' or 'hot' to an object is quite separate from its change of temperature
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8535
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To the claim that every predicate has a property, start by eliminating failure of application of predicate
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8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 13. Tropes / a. Nature of tropes
8537
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Tropes fall into classes, because exact similarity is symmetrical and transitive
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8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 13. Tropes / b. Critique of tropes
8538
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Trope theory needs extra commitments, to symmetry and non-transitivity, unless resemblance is exact
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8. Modes of Existence / D. Universals / 2. Need for Universals
8539
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Universals are required to give a satisfactory account of the laws of nature
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8. Modes of Existence / E. Nominalism / 1. Nominalism / c. Nominalism about abstracta
8529
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Deniers of properties and relations rely on either predicates or on classes
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8. Modes of Existence / E. Nominalism / 2. Resemblance Nominalism
8532
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Resemblances must be in certain 'respects', and they seem awfully like properties
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8. Modes of Existence / E. Nominalism / 3. Predicate Nominalism
8530
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Change of temperature in objects is quite independent of the predicates 'hot' and 'cold'
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8536
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We want to know what constituents of objects are grounds for the application of predicates
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8. Modes of Existence / E. Nominalism / 5. Class Nominalism
8531
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In most sets there is no property common to all the members
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9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 15. Against Essentialism
15753
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Essences might support Resemblance Nominalism, but they are too coarse and ill-defined
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19. Language / C. Assigning Meanings / 3. Predicates
8533
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Predicates need ontological correlates to ensure that they apply
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4035
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There must be some explanation of why certain predicates are applicable to certain objects
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26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 4. Regularities / a. Regularity theory
8541
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Regularities theories are poor on causal connections, counterfactuals and probability
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8540
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The introduction of sparse properties avoids the regularity theory's problem with 'grue'
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