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Ontology Metaphysics Universals Social Kinds
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1
Question
What is ontology as defined in this text?
Answer
The study of what there is and the types of entities that exist
2
Question
What does ontological commitment refer to?
Answer
Believing in the existence of certain entities based on true sentences
3
Question
Define numerical identity.
Answer
The strict sense of 'a is identical to b' meaning they are the same object
4
Question
What is qualitative identity?
Answer
A relation where objects share all the same qualities but are not the same object
5
Question
What paradox arises from sentences about nonexistence?
Answer
The puzzle of nonexistent things; sentences about nonexistence appear meaningful yet commit to entities
6
Question
What is Quine’s method of paraphrase primarily used for?
Answer
To avoid ontological commitment by rephrasing statements
7
Question
Differentiate quantitative and qualitative parsimony.
Answer
Quantitative minimizes number of entities; qualitative minimizes types of entities
8
Question
State Ockham’s Razor in this context.
Answer
Don't multiply ontological commitments beyond necessity
9
Question
What is naturalism in metaphysics as described?
Answer
Only science provides objective knowledge about the world
10
Question
What is an abstract entity according to Chapter 2?
Answer
Entities without physical characteristics or spatial location (e.g., numbers, colors)
11
Question
What is a universal in the abstract-objects discussion?
Answer
An entity that can be instantiated at multiple locations by different objects
12
Question
What is instantiation?
Answer
A property being possessed by a particular entity
13
Question
Define immanent in this chapter’s terms.
Answer
An entity located in space and time, existing within objects that instantiate it
14
Question
What is the core idea of Platonism about universals?
Answer
Universals exist and have features that make them distinct from particulars
15
Question
Contrast nominalism with Platonism.
Answer
Nominalism denies universals exist; Platonism affirms them
16
Question
What is a key idea behind conceptualism?
Answer
Universals exist but are mind-dependent
17
Question
Explain the ‘one over many’ argument for universals (general).
Answer
If many things share a property, there must be a universal F-ness
18
Question
What is truthmaker theory as discussed?
Answer
For every truth, there is an entity or entities that make it true
19
Question
What stance does Baker’s indispensability argument support?
Answer
Ontological commitment to mathematical entities
20
Question
What are abstract entities in Chapter 2 contrasted with concrete objects?
Answer
Abstract entities lack physical form and location; concretes have them
21
Question
What is a property in the context of universals?
Answer
An abstract feature that can be instantiated by concrete objects
22
Question
What is realism about universals in this text?
Answer
Universals exist and are mind-independent
23
Question
What is nominalism’s key claim about universals?
Answer
Universals do not exist
24
Question
What is the Ship of Theseus paradox about?
Answer
Identity over time of a composed object with replaced parts
25
Question
What does Leibniz’s Law (Indiscernibility of Identicals) state?
Answer
If two objects are identical, they share all properties
26
Question
Define mereological nihilism.
Answer
Only simples exist; there are no composite objects
27
Question
What is mereological universalism?
Answer
Everything composes some further object, provided no spatial overlap
28
Question
What is the contrast between linguistic and metaphysical vagueness?
Answer
Linguistic is about language limits; metaphysical about existence itself
29
Question
What is a natural kind with homeostatic proper cluster view?
Answer
A kind defined by stably clustered properties, not fixed essence
30
Question
What is a social kind?
Answer
A kind whose existence depends on human behavior and institutions