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Chapter 9 - Nominalism

from Part III - Metaphysics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 April 2020

Jamin Asay
Affiliation:
The University of Hong Kong
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Summary

A familiar view is that truthmaking is in tension with nominalism: to accept an ontology of truthmakers is to reject the austere metaphysical worldview of the nominalist. However, there is nothing inherently antinominalist in the idea of truthmaking. As has been argued, the notion of truthmaking is ontologically neutral, and so in principle compatible with any ontological worldview. Nevertheless, leading advocates of truthmaking (most notably Armstrong) have put their theories to the task of arguing against nominalism. This book is interested in exploring how strong a truthmaking-based defense the nominalist can wield. This chapter briefly presents an overview of the various theoretical options available when it comes to realism and nominalism in the context of truthmaking. In so doing, it introduces a particular distinction between hard road and easy road forms of nominalism. It aims to give the best possible defense of these different forms of nominalism, but raise its own own objections against them. Ultimately, it is suggested that truthmaker theory is best served by a realist commitment to properties, whether in terms of universals or tropes.

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A Theory of Truthmaking
Metaphysics, Ontology, and Reality
, pp. 175 - 199
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Nominalism
  • Jamin Asay, The University of Hong Kong
  • Book: A Theory of Truthmaking
  • Online publication: 18 April 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108759465.010
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  • Nominalism
  • Jamin Asay, The University of Hong Kong
  • Book: A Theory of Truthmaking
  • Online publication: 18 April 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108759465.010
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Nominalism
  • Jamin Asay, The University of Hong Kong
  • Book: A Theory of Truthmaking
  • Online publication: 18 April 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108759465.010
Available formats
×