Introducing Bertrand Russell by Dave Robinson

Author:Dave Robinson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781785780080
Publisher: Icon Books

AS A CONVINCED EMPIRICIST, I STRESS THAT A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE – KNOWLEDGE INDEPENDENT OF EXPERIENCE – CAN TELL US NOTHING ABOUT THE WORLD, ONLY ABOUT ENTITIES WHICH DO NOT EXIST, LIKE “PROPERTIES” AND “RELATIONS”. LET’S LOOK AT “PARTICULARS” AND “UNIVERSALS”. WHAT REALITY DO SUCH UNIVERSALS HAVE – “WHITENESS”, “TRIANGULARITY”, “NORTH OF” (AS IN “EDINBURGH IS NORTH OF LONDON”)?

Are Universals Real?

Some philosophers believe that universals are no more than convenient words that have no real existence, others that they are ideas that human beings refer to in their minds when they attempt to classify and understand the world. But like Plato, Russell believes that universals are not thoughts but “the objects of thoughts” – they are real and external to us, even if they don’t exist in the way that London and Edinburgh do.

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