The Four-Category Ontology and its Rivals
E. Jonathan Lowe · Oxford University Press eBooks · 2005
The central principles of the four-category ontology are explained, especially its distinction between properties conceived as particulars (modes) and properties conceived as universals (attributes), and its distinction between substantial universals (kinds) and substantial particulars (objects). Its appeal to universals is defended and its account of the dispositional/occurrent distinction is explained. Some advantages of the four-category ontology over various of its more parsimonious rivals are sketched: its account of the individuation of tropes or modes, its analysis of laws, its analysis of dispositionality, and its account of property-perception.