Properties

The world is populated with many different objects, to which weoften attribute properties: we say, for example, that grass isgreen, that the earth is spherical, that humans are animals, andthat murder is wrong. We also take it that these properties arethings in their own right: there is something in which being green,or spherical, or an animal, or wrong, consists, and that certainscientific or normative projects are engaged in uncovering theessences of such properties. In light of this, an importantquestion arises: what kind of things should we take propertiesthemselves to be?In Properties, Douglas Edwards gives an engaging,accessible, and up-to-date introduction to the many theories ofproperties available. Edwards charts the central positions in thedebate over properties, including the views that properties areuniversals, that properties are constructed from tropes, and thatproperties are classes of objects, and assesses the benefits anddisadvantages of each. Attempts to deny the existence of propertiesare also considered, along with 'pluralist' proposals,which aim to accommodate the different kinds of properties that arefound in various philosophical debates.Properties is the ideal introduction to this topic and willbe an invaluable resource for scholars and students wishing tolearn more about the important roles that properties have played,and continue to play, in contemporary philosophy.