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Type-token distinction

 

 
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Type-token distinction
 
 
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The type-token distinction is between a concept and particular instances of that concept. For example, the bicycle in your garage is a token
Token

Token may refer to:* Token , a physical object given to a locomotive driver to authorize him to use a particular stretch of single railway track...
 of the type
Type (metaphysics)

In metaphysics, a type is a category of being. A human is a type of thing; a cloud is a type of object ; and so on. A particular instance of a type is called a token of that thing; so Socrates was a token of a human being, but is not any longer since he is dead....
 "bicycle."; the bicycle-token is a "particular" located in time and space but the type-bicycle type is not. If we said "The bicycle has become more popular recently." the bicycle referred to is the bicycle-type; if we said the bicycle is in the garage, the bicycle referred to is the bicycle-token.

Types are said to be "abstract object
Abstract object

An abstract object is an object which does not exist at any particular time or place, but rather exists as a Type_ of thing . In philosophy, an important distinction is whether an object is considered abstract or concrete....
s" that do not have the attributes of location in space and time, as opposed "particulars" that do: the term "particular"
Particular

In philosophy, particulars are concrete entitles existing in space and time as opposed to abstractions. There are, however, theories of abstract particulars or Trope ....
 is used to refer to (loosely) 'concrete physical objects'.






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The type-token distinction is between a concept and particular instances of that concept. For example, the bicycle in your garage is a token
Token

Token may refer to:* Token , a physical object given to a locomotive driver to authorize him to use a particular stretch of single railway track...
 of the type
Type (metaphysics)

In metaphysics, a type is a category of being. A human is a type of thing; a cloud is a type of object ; and so on. A particular instance of a type is called a token of that thing; so Socrates was a token of a human being, but is not any longer since he is dead....
 "bicycle."; the bicycle-token is a "particular" located in time and space but the type-bicycle type is not. If we said "The bicycle has become more popular recently." the bicycle referred to is the bicycle-type; if we said the bicycle is in the garage, the bicycle referred to is the bicycle-token.

Types are said to be "abstract object
Abstract object

An abstract object is an object which does not exist at any particular time or place, but rather exists as a Type_ of thing . In philosophy, an important distinction is whether an object is considered abstract or concrete....
s" that do not have the attributes of location in space and time, as opposed "particulars" that do: the term "particular"
Particular

In philosophy, particulars are concrete entitles existing in space and time as opposed to abstractions. There are, however, theories of abstract particulars or Trope ....
 is used to refer to (loosely) 'concrete physical objects'. A type may have none to many tokens, e.g. there may be no token of the type "Even number not the sum of two primes".

In a true statement asserting identity between two terms, if the terms refer to the same particular then they are said to be token-identical, otherwise type-identical. For example if it is true that A's favorite car, X, is identical to B's favorite car, Y, then if X and Y are the self-same particular car, then X and Y are tokens and are token-identical. If on the other hand X and Y refer to models of car, then X and Y are types and are type-identical.

See


  • Metalogic
    Metalogic

    Metalogic is the study of the metatheory of logic. While logic is the study of the manner in which logical systems can be used to decide the correctness of arguments, metalogic studies the properties of the logical systems themselves....
  • Formalism
    Formalism

    The term formalism describes an emphasis on form over content or meaning in the arts, literature, or philosophy. A practitioner of formalism is called a formalist....
  • Type theory
    Type theory

    In mathematics, logic and computer science, type theory is any of several formal systems that can serve as alternatives to naive set theory, or the study of such formalisms in general....
  • Type (metaphysics)
    Type (metaphysics)

    In metaphysics, a type is a category of being. A human is a type of thing; a cloud is a type of object ; and so on. A particular instance of a type is called a token of that thing; so Socrates was a token of a human being, but is not any longer since he is dead....
  • Type physicalism
    Type physicalism

    Type physicalism is a theory, in philosophy of mind, which asserts that mental events are type-identical to the physical events in the brain with which they are correlation....


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