The Problem of Universals
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Empiricism and nominalism - Hobbes
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Empiricists do not agree that there are universals. The doctrine that there are no universals and that the only things common to general terms of our language are the terms themselves is called nominalism. (Thus, in the question of universals, forms and abstract objects, realism is opposed to nominalism.) This is how Hobbes defends his view. "Of Names, some are Proper, and singular to one onely thing; as Peter, John, this Man, this Tree: and some are Common to many things; as Man, Hore, Tree; every of which though but one Name, is nevertheless the name of divers particular things; in respect of all which together, it is called an Universall; there being nothing in the world Universall but Names; for the things named are every one of them Individuall and Singular. One Universall name is imposed on many things, for their similitude in some quality, or other accident: And whereas a Proper Name bringeth to mind one thing only; Universals recall any one of those many." He affirms his doctrine of nominalism when he writes, "there being nothing in the world Universall but Names; for the things named are every one of them Individuall and Singular" however, he appears to contradict himself when he writes "One Universall name is imposed on many things, for their similitude in some quality.." [my italics]. This seems to be exactly the point Russell is making, and Hobbes has stated his doctrine of nominalism here, but has not effectively defended it. We saw that empiricism affirms that all knowledge is derived from experience. But what does the term "derived" mean? Hume offers a specific interpretation of the relationship between knowledge and experience when he says that ideas are copies of impressions. However, this interpretation of how meanings are derived from sense-experience seems inadequate – if we follow the arguments already cited. On the other hand, perhaps empiricists can counter the argument by offering a different interpretation of the relationship between ideas and sense-impressions. Generally, when an idea is derived from sense-experience we say that it is abstracted from sense-experience. Could empiricists say, "all ideas are abstracted from experience"? The problem with this reply is that it is vague. It simply asserts that ideas are abstracted from experience but does not show how they are abstracted. When Hume proposes that ideas are copied from experience we have a clear understanding of what that relationship might be, but the relationship of abstraction needs further clarification.
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Contents of
The Problem of Universals
1 Hume, Empiricism - that ideas are copies of impressions
2 Plato and his argument in The Meno: the doctrine of recollection and the idea of metempsychosis
3 Plato - forms, universals, ideas - the problem of universals
4 Universals and realism
5 Empiricism and nominalism - Hobbes
6 The problem of participation and the infiinte regress in the third man argument
7 Wittgenstein and his attack on universals
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