A formal system admitting more models—not fewer—is standardly considered more general, and the realist interpretation's universal magnitudes exclude nominalist models the empiricist accepts.

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Reasons For

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Reason for

1.A formal system's generality is standardly measured by its model-theoretic expressive power: more models = greater logical scope.
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2.Realism's commitment to abstract universals necessarily excludes nominalist interpretations that reject such entities entirely.
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3.Empiricism accepts only concrete particulars; realism's universal magnitudes contradict this constraint, narrowing acceptable models.
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Reasons Against

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Reason against

1.Generality may concern expressive strength, not model count; a system with fewer but richer models can be more general.
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2.Nominalist and realist interpretations may both be consistent with the same formal system—differing only in philosophical gloss.
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3.Excluding nominalist models doesn't reduce realism's generality if nominalism misrepresents what the formal system actually requires.
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Key Terms

Formal system(as used in logic and mathematics): A set of rules and symbols (like mathematical axioms) that you use to prove whether statements are true or false, similar to how a chess game has specific rules that determine what moves are legal.
Nominalist models(scenarios realism cannot accept): Possible ways the world could be that fit with the nominalist belief that only concrete things are real.
empiricism(Used in discussing what cannot explain false belief in Theaetetus 187–201): Either a developed philosophical theory or the instinctive empiricism of some people's common sense
generality(The statement suggests the claim doesn't work as broadly as it seems to.): The quality of applying broadly or widely to many cases; when something is general, it works across different situations rather than just one specific case.
models(models of global democracy): idealized theoretical constructions designed to express the normative qualities of a democratic system as well as its constitutive institutions
nominalism(Metaphysics; opposed to realism about universals): The view that abstract entities such as properties or universals do not exist, and that predicative facts must be explained without appealing to such entities.
realist interpretation(in philosophy of science and quantum mechanics): The view that something exists and has properties independently of whether anyone is observing it or thinking about it.
universal magnitudes(Mundy and Swoyer's realist reinterpretation of measurement axioms): Universal properties instantiated by concrete objects, such as the universal property of being 5 meters long, as distinct from the concrete instantiations of that property

Connections

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Truth & Knowledge1 linked Modality & Possibility1 linked

A formal system's generality is standardly measured by its model-theoretic expre...Empiricism accepts only concrete particulars; realism's universal magnitudes con...

Details

Type: claim
Perspectives: 2 (1 for, 1 against)
Edits: 1 edit