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    Any nominalist view that identifies an equally fundamenta... — Carmelics
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    Supports→Nominalists can reject the One Over Many argument regardless of which nominalist view they adopt

    Any nominalist view that identifies an equally fundamental but ontologically cheaper base for predication thereby removes the explanatory asymmetry the One Over Many argument requires.

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.The One Over Many argument's force depends on explaining why many distinct particulars share properties without invoking abstract universals.
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    • 2.If nominalists ground predication in equally fundamental concrete particulars or tropes, they explain commonality without asymmetric appeal to universals.
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    • 3.Removing the asymmetry undermines the argument's conclusion that universals are necessary to avoid ad-hoc explanations of shared properties.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Nominalist bases (whether tropes, resemblance classes, or properties of particulars) still face the same regress: what explains their commonality?
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    • 2.Fundamentality and ontological parsimony are distinct virtues; a cheaper base may still require auxiliary explanatory machinery the universalist avoids.
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    • 3.The One Over Many argument targets explanatory adequacy, not merely ontological economy—nominalist alternatives may remain explanatorily asymmetrical in kind.
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    Key Terms

    Explanatory asymmetry(as used in philosophy of action)
    The idea that some explanations genuinely explain things while others don't—there's a real difference between giving a true reason and just describing what happened.
    One Over Many argument(The argument that Quinean nominalists seek to block)
    An argument (referenced but not fully stated) that nominalists must account for what many particular things have in common when they share a predicate
    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.
    ontologically(contrasted with semantically in the statement)
    Relating to what actually exists or is real, rather than just what words mean or how we talk about things.
    predication(Soames treats predication as a primitive notion that underlies but does not reduce to belief.)
    A primitive mental act whereby an agent represents an object as having a property — for example, representing o as red via perception, thought, or nonlinguistic perceptual belief.

    Connections

    2 topics

    Truth & Knowledge1 linkedSkepticism1 linked

    Related

    Fundamentality and ontological parsimony are distinct virtues; a cheaper base ma...If nominalists ground predication in equally fundamental concrete particulars or...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    Nominalist bases (whether tropes, resemblance classes, or properties of particul...
    Nominalists can reject the One Over Many argument regardless of which nominalist...
    +3 moreShow less
    Removing the asymmetry undermines the argument's conclusion that universals are ...The One Over Many argument targets explanatory adequacy, not merely ontological ...The One Over Many argument's force depends on explaining why many distinct parti...