211 lines
7.6 KiB
Markdown
211 lines
7.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Ontology
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TARGET DECK: Obsidian::H&SS
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FILE TAGS: ontology::philosophy
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tags:
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- ontology
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---
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## Overview
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Ontology is the philosophical study of being. Generally *things* are split into two broad categories: **abstract** and **concrete** things. These words are "terms of art" and their definition is not standardized in any way.
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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What did Quine declare as *the* ontological question?
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Back: "What is there?"
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Reference: Simon Hewitt, “A Cardinal Worry for Permissive Metaontology,” _Metaphysica_ 16, no. 2 (September 18, 2015): 159–65, [https://doi.org/10.1515/mp-2015-0009](https://doi.org/10.1515/mp-2015-0009).
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<!--ID: 1720912238054-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Who is attributed *the* ontological question?
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Back: Willard Van Orman Quine.
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Reference: Simon Hewitt, “A Cardinal Worry for Permissive Metaontology,” _Metaphysica_ 16, no. 2 (September 18, 2015): 159–65, [https://doi.org/10.1515/mp-2015-0009](https://doi.org/10.1515/mp-2015-0009).
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<!--ID: 1720912259767-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Cloze
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{Ontology} is the {philosophical study of being}.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720912238058-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Cloze
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{Epistemology} is the {philosophical study of knowledge}.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720912238062-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Cloze
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{Taxonomy} is the {branch of science concerned with categorization}.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720912238066-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Cloze
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{Mereology} is the {philosophical study of part-whole relationships}.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720998380912-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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What does Effingham mean when saying "concreta" and "abstracta" are terms of art?
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Back: They are terms defined freely by a person to mean whatever one wants.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720894782942-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Cloze
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In general, ontologists often categorize things as either {concreta} or {abstracta}.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720894782951-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Generally speaking, what does someone *probably* mean by "concrete" things?
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Back: Things that exists in space and/or time.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720894782957-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Generally speaking, what does someone *probably* mean by "abstract" things?
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Back: Things that exist in neither space nor time.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720894782965-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Is a material object considered concreta?
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Back: Usually.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720894782971-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Is an immaterial object considered concreta?
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Back: Possibly.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720894782978-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Is a material object considered abstracta?
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Back: Not usually.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720894782984-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Is an immaterial object considered abstracta?
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Back: Possibly.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720894782989-->
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END%%
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## Properties
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A **property** is an entity that can be predicated of things or, in other words, attributed to them.
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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What is a property?
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Back: An entity that can be predicated or attributed to things.
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Reference: Francesco Orilia and Michele Paolini Paoletti, “Properties,” in _The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy_, ed. Edward N. Zalta, Spring 2022 (Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2022), [https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/properties/](https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/properties/).
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<!--ID: 1720912237900-->
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END%%
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### Instantiation
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An entity is said to **instantiate** a property if said entity bears a connection to the property. For example, a human instantiates the property of *being human* and a man instantiates the properties of *being human* and *being a man*.
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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What is instantiation?
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Back: A relation held between an entity and the properties that describe the entity.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720912237951-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Cloze
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A man is said to {instantiate} the property of *being a man*.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720912237960-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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What is self-instantiation?
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Back: The instantiation of a property by itself.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720912237967-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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What is non-self-instantiation?
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Back: The non-instantiation of a property by itself.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720912237974-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Suppose all properties are self-instantiating. What must be said about *being honest*?
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Back: The property *being honest* is honest.
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Reference: Francesco Orilia and Michele Paolini Paoletti, “Properties,” in _The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy_, ed. Edward N. Zalta, Spring 2022 (Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2022), [https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/properties/](https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/properties/).
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<!--ID: 1720912237980-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Suppose properties are abstracta. What self-instantiation is thus formed?
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Back: The property of abstractness is abstract.
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Reference: Francesco Orilia and Michele Paolini Paoletti, “Properties,” in _The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy_, ed. Edward N. Zalta, Spring 2022 (Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2022), [https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/properties/](https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/properties/).
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<!--ID: 1720912237986-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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What is the paradox of non-self-instantiation?
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Back: The property *non-self-instantiation* is non-self-instantiating iff it is self-instantiating.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720912237992-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Let $P$ be the property *is non-self-instantiating*. What happens if $P$ is non-self-instantiating?
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Back: Then $P$ must be self-instantiating.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720912237998-->
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END%%
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%%ANKI
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Basic
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Let $P$ be the property *is non-self-instantiating*. What happens if $P$ is self-instantiating?
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Back: Then $P$ must be non-self-instantiating.
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Reference: Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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<!--ID: 1720912238004-->
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END%%
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## Bibliography
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* Francesco Orilia and Michele Paolini Paoletti, “Properties,” in _The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy_, ed. Edward N. Zalta, Spring 2022 (Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2022), [https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/properties/](https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/properties/).
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* Nikk Effingham, _An Introduction to Ontology_ (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2013).
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* Simon Hewitt, “A Cardinal Worry for Permissive Metaontology,” _Metaphysica_ 16, no. 2 (September 18, 2015): 159–65, [https://doi.org/10.1515/mp-2015-0009](https://doi.org/10.1515/mp-2015-0009). |