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Single Idea 9656

[from 'On the Plurality of Worlds' by David Lewis, in 8. Modes of Existence / B. Properties / 1. Nature of Properties ]

Full Idea

Properties are 'sparse' or 'abundant'. The abundant properties may be as extrinsic, as gruesomely gerrymandered, as miscellaneously disjunctive, as you please. They pay no heed to the qualitative joints, but carve things up every which way.

Gist of Idea

The 'abundant' properties are just any bizarre property you fancy

Source

David Lewis (On the Plurality of Worlds [1986], 1.5)

Book Reference

Lewis,David: 'On the Plurality of Worlds' [Blackwell 2001], p.59


A Reaction

This seems to be a logician's idea, which is needed for the notion of a set as pure extension, but it has very little to do with what I understand by the word 'property'. Better to call it a 'categorization'. E.g. filing George W. Bush under 'jackal'.