Trope (philosophy)

A trope ( engl: trope ) called in philosophy a particularized property (abstract particular). The term was in 1953 by D.C. Williams introduced in the parlance of Analytic Philosophy. For this concept exist in the analytic philosophy a number of other, virtually synonymous terms used: abstract particulars, individual properties (property individuals ), individual qualities, property instances.

Ontologies with tropics as basic category consider themselves as an alternative to nominalistic and realistic attempts to solve the problem of universals. Have about two objects of the same color, they contain according to the tropics theory numerically distinct, but exact same color tropics. Concrete individual things are often understood as a set of tropics. How nominalist ontologies reject tropical theories the existence of multiple localized entities, ie universals from.

The basic idea of the tropics theory can be traced back to Aristotle. In the Logical Investigations by Edmund Husserl take a prominent place. In the current discussions within the analytic ontology - the tropics theory has found many supporters ( Keith Campbell, Arda Denkel: DW Mertz, John Bacon, Peter M. Simons, Kevin Mulligan, CB Martin, Donald C. Williams, GF Stout ). Campbell and LaBossiereerläutern the difference between universals and tropes through six peas, all of which have exactly the same shade of green. During one and the same in this case for the universals - realists Color Universal "Green" is instantiated six times, it is for the tropics theorists to six green moments, all exactly the same.