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Single Idea 24292

[catalogued under 8. Modes of Existence / D. Universals / 1. Universals]

Full Idea

Parmenides: If a sail covering many people is one thing as a whole over many …would the sail as a whole be over each person, or would a part of it be over one person and another part over another?

Gist of Idea

Are many people covered by a whole sail, or each person by a part of it?

Source

Plato (Parmenides [c.366 BCE], 131c)

A Reaction

The standard idea of a universal is a concept which is one-over-many, but does a single horse embrace all the generalities included in the concept 'horse'? A puzzle for Plato's forms, but also for modern concepts.

Book Reference

Plato: 'Parmenides', ed/tr. Gill,M.L./Ryan,P. [Hackett 1996], p.132