Abstract
How the British Empiricist philosophers conceived the problem of universals is clearly brought out by the following words of Locke: “Since all things that exist are merely particulars, how come we by general terms?”1 For Locke, as for his successors Berkeley and Hume, the problem is to explain the use of general terms in a manner compatible with there being nothing in the world but particulars.
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Suggestions for Further Reading
Aaron, R. I., The Theory of Universals (New York and London, 1967), Chapters II, III, and IV (“The Character of Locke’s Conceptuatism,” “Berkeley’s Criticism,” and “Resemblance and Disposition in Hume’s Theory”).
Berkeley, G., Introduction to Principles of Human Knowledge (edited by A. D. Lindsay, London, 1960).
Hume, Introduction to Treatise on Human Nature (edited by A. D. Lindsay, London, 1960).
Locke, “Of General Terms,” in An Essay on Human Understanding (abridged, edited by A. D. Woozley, London and New York, 1964). See also “Of Maxims.”
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© 1972 Hilary Staniland
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Staniland, H. (1972). The British Empiricists. In: Universals. Problems of Philosophy. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-00885-8_2
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