Tropes and Particularized Properties
A trope is a particularized property, such as the specific redness of this apple, which is not shared with anything else. This topic studies trope theory as an alternative to both realism about universals and austere nominalism.
Definition
A trope is a non-repeatable, particular instance of a property or relation, located where its bearer is.
Scope
Covers the nature of tropes as abstract particulars, trope bundle theories of objects, resemblance classes of tropes as substitutes for universals, and problems concerning the unity and compresence of tropes.
Core questions
- Can properties be particulars rather than universals?
- Do resemblance classes of tropes replace universals?
- Are objects bundles of compresent tropes?
- What unifies the tropes that make up a single thing?
Key concepts
- Trope
- Abstract particular
- Compresence
- Resemblance class
- Bundle theory
- Particularized property
Key theories
- Trope theory as one-category ontology
- Williams argues that tropes, abstract particulars, are the alphabet of being: objects are bundles of compresent tropes and kinds are resemblance classes of tropes, so neither bare particulars nor universals are needed.
- Trope nominalism
- Campbell develops a systematic trope ontology in which similarity among tropes does the work of universals while individual tropes ground the qualitative character of things.
History
G. F. Stout anticipated particularized properties early in the twentieth century. Williams coined 'trope' and presented the modern theory in 1953; Campbell systematized it, and Maurin and others developed sophisticated trope ontologies that remain a leading alternative in the universals debate.
Debates
- Can tropes alone ground similarity and objecthood?
- Trope theorists claim resemblance among tropes and compresence of tropes suffice to explain shared features and individual objects; critics worry that primitive resemblance and compresence covertly reintroduce universals or leave the unity of objects unexplained.
Key figures
- D. C. Williams
- Keith Campbell
- Anna-Sofia Maurin
- G. F. Stout
- Peter Simons
Related topics
Seminal works
- williams1953
- campbell1990
Frequently asked questions
- How does a trope differ from a universal?
- A universal is repeatable and can be wholly present in many things at once; a trope is a particular, found in only one thing. The redness of this apple and the redness of that apple are two distinct tropes, not one shared universal.