The instantiation principle or principle of instantiation or principle of exemplification is the
concept
A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs.
Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...
in
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
and
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
(first put forward by
David Malet Armstrong) that there can be no uninstantiated or unexemplified
properties
Property is the ownership of land, resources, improvements or other tangible objects, or intellectual property.
Property may also refer to:
Philosophy and science
* Property (philosophy), in philosophy and logic, an abstraction characterizing an ...
(or
universals). In other words, it is impossible for a property to exist which is not had by some object.
The existence of properties or universals is not tied to their actual existence now, but to their existence in space-time considered as a whole. Thus, any property which ''is'', ''has been'', or ''will be'' instantiated exists. The property of being red would exist even if all red things were to be destroyed, because it has been instantiated. This broadens the range of properties which exist if the principle is true.
Those who endorse the principle of instantiation are known as ''in re'' (in thing or in reality) realists or '
immanent realists'.
Difficulties for the instantiation principle arise from the existence of truths about the uninstantiated, for example about higher infinities, or about an uninstantiated shade of blue (if such a shade exists). Those truths appear to be about something, but what can their
truthmaker be if they do not in some sense exist?
See also
*
In re structuralism
References
{{Reflist
Concepts in logic
Philosophical realism
Metaphysical principles