General Objects and Universals (On the Hundredth Anniversary of Lesniewski’s Proof)

Article

Abstract

[In Russian]

Stanisław Leśniewski defined a universal as a general object that possesses only those properties, which are common to all the individual objects, corresponding to it. By defining so, Leśniewski came to infer that general objects cannot exist at all. The author of the article claims Leśniewski’s proof for non-existence of universals rests on serious misunderstanding of their nature. The author argues that universals are not necessarily «objects». Moreover crucial concepts of «possession», «property», «common», and «unique» involved in Leśniewski’s definition of general objects are at least debatable. Thus the proof already comes apart as it starts.