nominalism

/ˈnä-mə-nə-ˌli-zəm ˈnäm-nə-ˌli-zəm/ (ame, mw)

nominalism — noun

1. the philosophical view that general words such as 'beauty' or 'dog' do not point

1.名詞C2
釋義

the philosophical view that general words such as 'beauty' or 'dog' do not point to one universal thing outside the mind, but simply group many separate things under the same label.

例句

During seminar, Professor Lin said nominalism treats 'tree' as a label for many separate trees.

nominalism treats X as a label for many things

Kian wrote that nominalism denies one perfect 'circle' existing outside the mind.

denies a universal existing outside the mind

同義詞
  • conceptualism

    close in topic, but conceptualism places universals in the mind rather than denying them outright.

  • anti-realism

    broader label for rejecting mind-independent universals, though it is not identical to nominalism.

反義詞
  • realism

    holds that universals or shared properties are real in some way.

  • essentialism

    treats shared essences as genuinely belonging to things.

文法句型

nominalism + about + abstract noun

contrast nominalism with + realism

nominalism + treats X as + label/name

用法筆記

Often explained with examples such as 'redness' or 'justice'. Distinguish this sense from sense 2: sense 1 focuses on what general terms refer to, while sense 2 makes the broader claim that abstract entities do not exist at all.

常見錯誤

❌Nominalism means ordinary names are unreal.
✅Nominalism means general categories have no separate universal reality.
💡the theory questions universals, not the existence of everyday names themselves.

2. the broader view that the world contains only particular people and things, not

2.名詞C2
釋義

the broader view that the world contains only particular people and things, not free-standing abstract items such as shared natures, classes, or truth claims.

例句

Adisa summarized nominalism as the claim that only individual cats exist, not 'catness'.

only particular things exist, not abstract categories

In his essay, Henry linked nominalism to a world made of particular people and objects.

同義詞
  • particularism

    a related label that emphasizes particular things, though it is broader and used in other fields too.

反義詞
  • realism

    in metaphysics, allows entities beyond individual things.

  • platonism

    holds that abstract forms or universals have a real existence.

文法句型

nominalism + holds that + clause

strict nominalism

nominalism + rejects + abstract entity

用法筆記

This sense appears in formal discussions of what kinds of things reality contains. Unlike sense 1, it is not only about the meaning of general words; it denies independent abstract entities altogether.

常見錯誤

❌Nominalism says only individual words exist.
✅Nominalism says only individual things exist.
💡this sense is about what exists in reality, not about vocabulary alone.