6. Universals (Avicenna and Abelard)

There is a core question about universals, which perplexed ancient and medieval thinkers, and still exercises philosophers today. Some things in the world are the same, not by being numerically identical but by being the same in some respect. Is it enough simply to suppose that there are these particular things which are the same in these respects, or is there some additional entity, besides the particular things—a universal—in respect of which they are the same? ‘Universals (Avicenna and Abelard)’ considers the problem of universals in antiquity; early medieval realism; the views of Avicenna and Abelard on universals; Duns Scotus, who transformed Avicenna’s solution; and the nominalism of William of Ockham.