---
title: Nominalism
TARGET DECK: Obsidian::H&SS
FILE TAGS: ontology::nominalism
tags:
  - nominalism
  - ontology
---

## Overview

**Anti-realists** about a category are those who don't believe entities of said category exist. **Realists** about a category are those that do. **Nominalism** refers to the stance that no abstract objects exist. That is, nominalists are anti-realists in regards to abstract entities.

%%ANKI
Basic
What does it mean for a person to be anti-realist about category $X$?
Back: They do not believe entities of $X$ exist.
Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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END%%

%%ANKI
Basic
What does it mean for a person to be realist about category $X$?
Back: They believe entities belonging to $X$ exist.
Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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END%%

%%ANKI
Basic
How does Effingham define nominalism?
Back: As anti-realism towards abstracta.
Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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END%%

%%ANKI
Cloze
Roughly speaking, {1:permissivism} is to {2:realism} whereas {2:nominalism} is to {1:anti-realism}.
Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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END%%

## Bibliography

* Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).