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24 Universal Terms. 
“And where do we undertake to divide and distinguish even in the 
black. If this question should be put to an Icelander, he would say _ 
they were white, to an African, he would declare them to be black. 
Those who had seen both would answer the question generally as their _ 
attention has been most drawn to examples of the one class or the — 
other. So.when the inquirer into the intellectual philosophy has 
searched his own mind to find whether general terms call up images, _ 
or whether his attention has been given to words as to algebraic — 
signs, he has been led either to the doctrine of the conceptualists or to 
that of the nominalists as he has stated to himself examples of natu 
ral classes or artificial classifications. Let him propose to him 
such examples as men, horses, apples, roses, and he will bea con- 
ceptualist ; but let him consider such words as things, subjects, facts, 
&c. and he will be a nominalist. 
That some distinction of the subject ought theréfore-to be — 
sppaere clear : the absolute terminations to be given to the distine- 
tions made, are not equally so. In the question concerning the color 4 
of our race, none would say we should not make any distinction 
of color, because there are some of an intermediate hue partaking — 
of both black and white, so in this question, examples may be given’ 
of classes of which it is difficult to say whether they should be call- 
ed natural or artificial, because they partake of the nature of both. 
natural world, without meeting similar difficulties ; much more must 
we expect them in the finer and more subtle fields of intellect. 
It would not injure the argument, if it should be found that in the — 
series commencing with the plainest natural classes, and going onto J 
the most abstruse artificial classifications, there were reasons for dr _ q 
viding general terms, into more than two sorts. No other divisions - 
needed for the solution of the problem* we have been discussing, a+ — 
though for other purposes, it may be proper to ‘take notice of other : 
- 
ee 
* Since this article was put in type, the writer has had the patshstion to find the 
following —— in Sir James Mackintosh’s history of Ethics, p. 45.—** The contro- 
n the Nominalists and Realists, treated by some modern writers as : 
of be = wrangling, was in truth an anticipation of that modern dispute 
‘still, divides metaphysicians, whether the human mind can form general idea 
and whether | the words which are supposed to convey such ideas, be not general 4 
terms, represeating only a number of rage agen ? questions so far from 
frivolous, that they deeply concern both the nature of reasoning and the structure 
of language.” From this passage, I find that se ‘ect is vias in three points, aM 
by that of this celebrated be first, that this cont: roversy remains now where it a P 
did centuries ago; secondly, , as to the 4 
importance. 
