Problem of universals

Philosophical question

The problem of universals is an ancient question from metaphysics that has inspired a range of philosophical topics and disputes: "Should the properties an object has in common with other objects, such as color and shape, be considered to exist beyond those objects? And if a property exists separately from objects, what is the nature of that existence?" Universals are qualities or relations found in two or more entities. As an example, if all cup-holders are circular in some way, then circularity may be considered a universal property of cup-holders.

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