Universals: An Opinionated Introduction

by Armstrong,D. M.

• ISBN13: 9780813307725
• ISBN10: 0813307724
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1989-09-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In this short text, a distinguished philosopher turns his attention to one of the oldest and most fundamental philosophical problems of all: How it is that we are able to sort and classify different things as being of the same natural class? Professor Armstrong carefully sets out six major theoriesancient, modern, and contemporaryand assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each. Recognizing that there are no final victories or defeats in metaphysics, Armstrong nonetheless defends a traditional account of universals as the most satisfactory theory we have.This study is written for advanced students, but as Armstrong goes considerably beyond his earlier work on this topic, it will interest professional scholars as well. Carefully plotted and clearly written,Universalsis both a paradigm of exposition and a case study on the value of careful analysis of fundamental issues in philosophy.

Author Biography

D. M. Armstrong is emeritus professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Sydney.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
The Problem	p. 1
Primitive Natural Classes	p. 21
Resemblance Nominalism	p. 39
	p. 59
Universals as Attributes	p. 75
Tropes	p. 113
Summing Up	p. 135
References	p. 141
Index	p. 145
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