Universals, Concepts and Qualities

P.F. Strawson was Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Magdalen College and University College, Oxford, UK. Arindam Chakrabarti is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA.

• Contents: Introduction, Arindam Chakrabarti; Strawson on universals, Pranab Kumar Sen; Reply to Pranab Sen, P.F. Strawson; Universals and other generalities, Jonardon Ganeri; Predicates and properties: an examination of P.K. Sens' theory of universals, Fraser McBride; Buddhist nominalism and desert ornithology, Mark Siderits; Universals transformed: the first thousand years after Plato, Richard Sorabji; Conceptualism, Chris Swoyer; The concept horse, Harold W. Noonan; Universals and particulars: Ramsey's scepticism, Bob Hale; How not to trivialize the identity of indiscernibles, Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra; Universals and the defence of ante rem realism, George Bealer; Particulars have their properties of necessity, David Armstrong; Properties in abundance, Wolfgang Künne; A category of particulars, P.F. Strawson; On perceiving properties, Arindam Chakrabarti; Index.

’All the contributors are extremely able philosophers who have valuable things to say about various aspects of the problem of universals. Indeed, every aspect of the problem of which I am aware is discussed by at least one of the authors... This excellent collection of essays demonstrates by example that analytical metaphysics is very far from dead.’ TLS ’The book's introduction should be read carefully at the beginning and then reread at the end ; and all the contributors should be grateful to Chakrabarti for an introduction that manages to elevate each article to a pedestal of its own. We boldly claim that this is one of the best introductions ever written in an anthology of this kind. ... The articles of this collection present a comprehensive account of different approaches through history of the problem of universals. ... The editors have dexterously sequenced the articles in such a way that each paper provides the requisite background for the next.’ Philosophy in Review