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    If abstract Mīmāṃsā entities like word-universals are eli... — Carmelics
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    Supports→Abstract objects posited by Mīmāṃsā linguistic realism do not really exist

    If abstract Mīmāṃsā entities like word-universals are eliminable from a complete semantic explanation, Occam's razor demands their rejection as genuine existents.

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Semantic facts about word-meaning can be explained via speaker intentions, conventions, and use-patterns without positing abstract universals.
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    • 2.Occam's razor correctly eliminates theoretical posits when empirically equivalent, simpler theories achieve equal explanatory power.
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    • 3.Word-universals create philosophical puzzles (causation, location, identity) absent from nominalist alternatives, suggesting they're metaphysically unnecessary.
      ?

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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Eliminability from one explanation doesn't entail non-existence; mathematical objects are irreplaceable in physics despite ontological debates.
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    • 2.Mīmāṃsā word-universals explain linguistic systematicity and unity across infinite utterances better than empiricist alternatives can.
      ?

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    • 3.Occam's razor applies to theoretical frameworks, not individual entities; rejecting universals may require *more* complex explanatory machinery elsewhere.
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    2 topics

    Truth & Knowledge1 linkedPhilosophy of Language1 linked

    Related

    Abstract objects posited by Mīmāṃsā linguistic realism do not really existEliminability from one explanation doesn't entail non-existence; mathematical ob...Mīmāṃsā word-universals explain linguistic systematicity and unity across infini...Occam's razor applies to theoretical frameworks, not individual entities; reject...
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    Occam's razor correctly eliminates theoretical posits when empirically equivalen...Semantic facts about word-meaning can be explained via speaker intentions, conve...Word-universals create philosophical puzzles (causation, location, identity) abs...

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    2 (1 for, 1 against)