Problem of universals
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The problem of universals is an ancient question from metaphysics that has inspired a range of philosophical topics and disputes: "Should the properties an object has in common with other objects, suc
Boethius teaching his students
Peter Abelard
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Peter Abelard was a French philosopher, logician, theologian, composer, and poet.
Problem of universals
…position, he argued strongly against both nominalism and conceptualism, arguing instead for Scotist realism, a medieval response to the conceptualism of Abelard. That is to say, Scotus believed that such properties as 'redness' and 'roundness' exist in reality and are mind-independent entities. Furthermore…
Depiction by Antoni Oleszczyński, before 1841
Statue of Abelard at Louvre Palace in Paris by Jules Cavelier
Dedicatory panel in the Père Lachaise Cemetery
Peter Abelard and Heloïse in a manuscript of the Roman de la Rose (14th century)