Realism and conventionalism generally establish the parameters of debate over universals. Do abstract terms in language refer to abstract things in the world? The realist answers yes, leaving us with an inflated ontology; the conventionalist answers no, leaving us with subjective categories. I want to defend nominalism — in its original medieval sense, as one possibility that aims to preserve objectivity while positing nothing more than concrete individuals in the world. First, I will present paradigmatic statements of realism and conventionalism as developed by Russell and Strawson. Then, I will present the nominalist alternative as developed by William of Ockham.
Realism and conventionalism are commonly taken to be the primary contenders in the debate over universals. Does abstract language refer to abstract things in the world? The realist answers yes, leaving us with an inflated ontology, the conventionalist answers no, leaving us with subjective categories. In this paper I would like to defend a third possibility which aims to preserve objectivity without multiplying objects. It is nominalism, in the original, medieval sense of the word — or more specifically, in the Ockham sense of the word.
Willard Quine once remarked that "the nominalists of old . . . object to admitting abstract entities at all, even in the restrained sense of mind-made entities."(1) This is certainly true of Roscelin, the eleventh-century anti-realist who famously asserted that a universal is nothing but a flapping of the vocal chords. And Quine’s remark is true of Ockham as well, in so far as he asserted that a universal is nothing but a particular thought in the mind. Yet thoughts, even if particular, are not exactly concrete, and they do abstract, according to Ockham, in a way that Roscelin’s flapping vocal cords do not.
I won’t be able to defend Ockham’s nominalism by refuting all of the many versions of the competition one by one. What I propose to do instead is set it up in relation to the celebrated exchange between Bertrand Russell and P. F. Strawson. In this exchange, Russell and Strawson were trying to figure out how a sentence can be meaningful even when the thing the subject of the sentence refers to does not exist. Russell makes what I take to be the classic realist mistake; Strawson, the conventionalist. In what follows I will first explain Ockham’s alternative and then show why I think it compares favorably against these twentieth-century counterparts.
They are farmers because of their rural lifestyle and because of their want to stay away from modern life. Amish people are baptized when they are around 18-21 years old (Amish Studies). They do this because they believe that when a young person is baptized it should be of their own free will and desire to be part of the Amish Church. They also want the young adult to understand what is going on and what their faith means. To the Amish knowledge is salvation.
You’re on vacation in rural Ohio en route to your bed and breakfast when your GPS has lost signal and you take a wrong turn down a dirt road. You start to notice the modern looking farm buildings but there are no power poles with electricity running to these quaint farms. Next thing you know you are being passed by a black buggy driven by a muscular horse and you think to yourself that the gentleman driving with his plain black hat, white shirt, black pants, and a full beard must be from back in time. It all of a sudden arises to you from reading your favorite Amish books by Beverly Lewis that you must be in Old Order Amish country where the society lives in the modern world but not up to modern standards. What has always interested me on the Amish, is the youth’s Rumspringa, the different Amish sects there are, and how there every day life is.
The philosophical theory of dualism holds that mind and body are two separate entities. While dualism presupposes that the two ‘substances’ may interact, it contrasts physicalism by refusing to denote correlation between body and mind as proof of identity. Comparing the two theories, dualism’s invulnerable proof of the existence of qualia manages to evade arguments from physicalism. While a common argument against qualia—non-physical properties defined in Jackson’s Knowledge Argument—targets the unsound nature of epiphenomenalism, this claim is not fatal to the theory of dualism as it contains claims of causation and fails to stand resolute to the conceivability of philosophical zombies. This essay argues that epiphenomenalism, while often designated as a weakness when present in an argument, can remain in valid arguments from qualia.
The Amish are very dedicated to their faith and believe they should live their life like their savior. They do not believe in modern conveniences such as automobiles, electricity, and any other modern technology. “The Amish are also known as the “plain people” because they tend to separate themselves from the modern world” (Rearick, 2003).
"Exploring Amish Country." Exploring Amish Country, Learn What Makes It Special. Exploring Amish Country, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. .
In chapter three there is a somewhat disparate side of the ontological argument. It centers on the nature of God than the meaning of him. Particularly, this chapter centers on the early quality of God that is the fact that he needs to exist. Inanimate things, supplementary living things, and humans are ...
From the beginning of this religion, to the present day family roles, the Amish religion has been dissected thoroughly to prove that they are not as boring as perceived by American society. To date, the largest group of Amish people live in Lancaster County, home to about 30, 000 Amish people. Prior to researching this religion, I had many bias thoughts and assumptions about the Amish people. Through weeks of research, I have enlightened myself to a new religion that I did not have much appreciation for, but most importantly, group of people whom I share many of my values and beliefs with.
Thomas Paine was an activist for many causes throughout his lifetime including the abolition of slavery, government rule by democracy rather than a monarchy, and in later years about what he believed were falsehoods in the Bible. He was an advocate for freedom of the people and his writings were often controversial. He believed in democracy and leaned toward rule by the common man. After becoming a friend of Benjamin Franklin, he traveled to the colonies. While in the colonies his writings on the American Revolution caused him to become an enemy of the British Government. When he returned to Great Britain his writings as a proponent for the French Revolution caused him to have to flee to France to avoid arrest. His political stance in France eventually caused him to be imprisoned and he eventually had to flee again to the United States to escape long-term imprisonment. He traveled quite a bit and was able to see firsthand the American Revolution and the French Revolution. Thomas Paine was a gifted writer, and he was very devoted to his causes. He is extremely famous for his pamphlet Common Sense which he wrote about what he felt was the necessity for American independence and later had an input into the Constitution of the United States of America. There were a number of gifted male writers during this timeframe who wrote about the same issues, including Edmund Burke, so even though he was a revolutionary writer, he was not unique.
"Regulatory Information." Federal Food and Drugs Act of 1906. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 20 May 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .
There is perhaps no idea in the history of western ontology with a more powerful legacy than Aristotle’s conception of ousia. Traditionally construed, "ousia" stands for the primary, foundational principle of being. It can be said that ontology has historically been ousiology – the search for ultimate foundations. In this quest for ultimates, the ousia names the absolute arche, the foundational principle that reigns over and orders all being. The political tone of this formulation is intentional; it is designed to frame the ontological question concerning the meaning of ousia in ethico-political terms. The impetus behind this strategy is to suggest that western ontology has been largely determined by an authoritarian tendency that seeks to establish a single ultimate principle in order to secure a firm and certain foundation. On the one hand, this authoritarian tendency may be traced back to Aristotle, for ousia is precisely such a hegemonic principle; on the other hand, Aristotle also suggests another conception of ousia, one that can be drawn upon in the attempt to resist this authoritarian tendency. In what follows, I trace both the authoritarian and this resistant conception ousia in Aristotle.
Before Americans can make accusations that marijuana can only be used for the sole purpose of euphoric pleasure, they should first become knowledgeable of cannabis’s original and highly valuable uses that gave the plant its primary popularity. The herbal plant was actually a food source around 6000 BC, and it was used as a fiber two thousand years later. Another couple thousand years later was when cannabis obtained its first medical record in China and soon traveled to India and North Africa where cannabis began its use as a “recreational hallucinogen.” When Europe greeted marijuana at about 500 BC, users began classifying in what methods the plant can treat various medical conditions. The Americas were first introduced t...
Beauvais, Fred. “Spotlight on Special Populations. American Indians and Alcohol.” Alcohol Health & Research World 22.4 (1998): 253-259. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 23 July 2014.
In John Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding", he makes a distinction between the sorts of ideas we can conceive of in the perception of objects. Locke separates these perceptions into primary and secondary qualities. Regardless of any criticism of such a distinction, it is a necessary one in that, without it, perception would be a haphazard affair. To illustrate this, an examination of Locke's definition of primary and secondary qualities is necessary.
As a sociologist working with the Amish culture I would need to know that the Amish try to avoid the outside world for religious and cultural reasons. I would also be aware of the fact that when in Amish country there are slow moving vehicles to look out for and that there are also private properties that I should not enter. I should understand that the Amish do not like to be treated as an attraction, and that they do not like to have their photo or any video of them taken as they consider it an unacceptable act of pride. Lastly, I would need to not be offended by the people keeping their distance and avoiding my company or conversation because they don’t do it to be rude but because I do not follow their lifestyle and they try to avoid “pollution”.
My article is about Boethius’ problem of universals wherein the sense of this topic is to give emphasis on what should be God’s category, is it universal or particular? According to Boethius, universal is synonymous with the word general for it describes a whole of individuals, is accompanied through thinking and only exist in our minds. On the other hand, the individual things or particulars are those that exist outside of our minds that is specific or certain and is accompanied by the sense of sight. In the middle of Boethius problem of universals he came up with a question of, does the universals only exist in our minds or there is a thing outside