LessonsConcepts: Particular and Universal, and Six Cases of UniversalsQuiz

Repeated use of the same word does not establish universality. One word may be used as a proper name for several different people, yet in each occurrence it can designate one determinate individual.

If three people are called “Zayd,” their common name does not make the identity of one of them a universal.
If “human” applies to the same three people, the human nature is shared and the predication is universal.

The decisive question is whether a concept is predicable of distinct instances, not how often its word is used.

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Many names are not many instances

Concepts: Particular and Universal, and Six Cases of Universals

Repeated use of the same word does not establish universality. One word may be used as a proper name for several different people, yet in each occurrence it can designate one determinate individual.

If three people are called “Zayd,” their common name does not make the identity of one of them a universal.
If “human” applies to the same three people, the human nature is shared and the predication is universal.

The decisive question is whether a concept is predicable of distinct instances, not how often its word is used.