Single Idea 4453

[catalogued under 8. Modes of Existence / D. Universals / 1. Universals]

Full Idea

One version of realism says that the universal does not enter into the being of its instances, and thus is a One-Over-Many. One version of this is the model/copy view, but this is not widely held, because of difficulties such as the Third Man Argument.

Clarification

The 'Third Man' involves using a model to identify the model, which gives an infinite regress

Gist of Idea

One realism is one-over-many, which may be the model/copy view, which has the Third Man problem

Source

J.P. Moreland (Universals [2001], Ch.1)

Book Reference

Moreland,J.P.: 'Universals' [Acumen 2001], p.7


A Reaction

This presumably arises if the model is held to have the properties of the copy (self-predication), and looks like a bad theory