The ontology of words: Realism, nominalism, and eliminativism

Philosophy Compass 15 (7):e12691 (2020)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

What are words? What makes two token words tokens of the same word-type? Are words abstract entities, or are they (merely) collections of tokens? The ontology of words tries to provide answers to these, and related questions. This article provides an overview of some of the most prominent views proposed in the literature, with a particular focus on the debate between type-realist, nominalist, and eliminativist ontologies of words.

Author's Profile

James (J.T.M.) Miller
Durham University

Analytics

Added to PP
2020-06-01

Downloads
880 (#21,332)

6 months
157 (#23,162)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?