
Gardeners, poets, lovers, and philosophers are all interested in the redness of roses; but only philosophers wonder how it is that two different roses can share the same property. Are red things red because they resemble each other? Or do they resemble each other because they are red? Since the 1970s philosophers have tended to favour the latter view, and held that a satisfactory account of properties must involve the postulation of either universals or tropes. But Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra revives the dormant alternative theory of resemblance nominalism, showing first that it can withstand the attacks of such eminent opponents as Goodman and Armstrong, and then that there are reasons to prefer it to its rival theories. The clarity and rigour of his arguments will challenge metaphysicians to rethink their views on properties.
Can the problem of universals be resolved by positing that properties are merely the result of resemblance between individual objects? Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra, a scholar in metaphysics, utilizes a rigorous analytical framework to defend resemblance nominalism against long-standing objections. By evaluating the logical consistency of this theory, he argues that it provides a more parsimonious account of properties than competing theories involving universals or tropes.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts in contemporary metaphysics recognize this work as a significant contribution to the revival of nominalist discourse. Readers frequently note the high level of technical rigor and the systematic approach the author employs to address complex ontological challenges.
Page Count:
245
Publication Date:
2002-01-01
Publisher:
Clarendon Press
ISBN-10:
0191554006
ISBN-13:
9780191554001
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