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    If instantiation is itself a relational universal, then w... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Postulating universals leads to a vicious infinite regress

    If instantiation is itself a relational universal, then when entity a instantiates universal F, a, F, and the instantiation relation i1 are linked by a further instantiation relation i2

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    Modality & PossibilityTruth & Knowledge

    Key Terms

    entity(as used in metaphysics)
    Any individual thing or being that exists—could be a person, object, or anything else that is one distinct thing.
    instantiation(Lowe's trope-involving pluralism)
    The formal relation between a mode and the universal attribute the mode instantiates; it is part of a mode's essence that it instantiates the specific attribute it does
    relational universal

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    Related propositions within the same area of thought.
    (Instantiation is argued to be a relational universal, which generates the regress)
    A universal that is instantiated by a group of entities standing in a relation to one another
    the problem of instantiation (or 'regress problem')(as used in metaphysics/ontology)
    A tricky puzzle: if a thing has a property *through* some relation called 'instantiation,' what connects the thing, the property, AND that relation together? This seems to create an infinite chain of connections.
    universal(Argument for the generality of Turing machines)
    A computing system capable of simulating any other computing system of the same or lesser power; used here to describe Turing machines as the most general model of computation.

    Related

    If universals exist (both monadic and relational), then when an entity instantia...Many things instantiate many universals, making it plausible that instantiation ...Postulating universals leads to a vicious infinite regressi2 is itself a universal, so a, F, i1, and i2 must be linked by yet another inst...

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    If universals exist (both monadic and relational), then when an entity...93%Many things instantiate many universals, making it plausible that inst...92%i2 is itself a universal, so a, F, i1, and i2 must be linked by yet an...82%Actual universality requires instantiation by a singular substance.80%

    Source

    AI-extracted
    SEP: nominalism-metaphysics
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    There are other, more specific arguments against universals. One is that postulating such things leads to a vicious infinite regress. For suppose there are universals, both monadic and relational, and that when an entity instantiates a universal, or a group of entities instantiate a relational universal, they are linked by an instantiation relation. Suppose now that a instantiates the universal F. Since there are many things that instantiate many universals, it is plausible to suppose that insta

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