Resemblance nominalism
Subtitle: a solution to the problem of universals
By: Gonzalo Rodriguez Pereyra
Publisher: Clarendon Press
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 238
Subjects: Nominalism; Universals (Philosophy); Resemblance (Philosophy)
Description: "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."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [230]-234) and index