Predicate Nominalism

Predicate nominalism is the view that properties are not abstract objects existing independently of particulars, but are instead linguistic predicates or classificatory conventions. A property like 'redness' does not name a universal; it is merely a predicate we apply to red things. The position is a species of nominalism that attempts to preserve talk of properties while denying their metaphysical weight. Critics argue that predicate nominalism cannot explain why different predicates apply to the same objects across possible worlds — a problem that drives some nominalists toward trope theory, which treats properties as individualized abstract particulars rather than universals.