Abstract object theory


Abstract object theory is a branch of metaphysics regarding abstract objects. Originally devised by metaphysician Edward Zalta in 1981, the theory was an expansion of mathematical Platonism.

Overview

Abstract Objects: An Introduction to Axiomatic Metaphysics is the title of a publication by Edward Zalta that outlines abstract object theory.
AOT is a dual predication approach to abstract objects. On Zalta's account, there are two modes of predication: some objects exemplify properties, while others merely encode them. While the objects that exemplify properties are discovered through traditional empirical means, a simple set of axioms allows us to know about objects that encode properties. For every set of properties, there is exactly one object that encodes exactly that set of properties and no others. This allows for a formalized ontology.
A notable feature of AOT is that Romane Clark's paradox and Alan McMichael's paradox do not arise within it.
In 2007, Zalta and Branden Fitelson have introduced the term computational metaphysics to describe the implementation and investigation of formal, axiomatic metaphysics in an automated reasoning environment.