separateparticular

Separateparticular is a term used in some contemporary philosophical discussions to denote a concrete, individual entity that is treated as distinct from the properties it bears. The idea emphasizes a separation between the particular object and the properties or traits it possesses, such as shape, color, or size.

In this usage, a separate particular is the actual thing—the apple, the chair, or the person—while properties are qualities instantiated by that thing. The concept helps phrase questions about how objects relate to their attributes, and how much of an object can be understood apart from the properties it exhibits. For example, one might say that the specific red apple is a separate particular with the property of redness, among others, but the redness itself is not the apple.

The term is not a standard or widely adopted label in all philosophical literatures. It appears in some discussions of universals, realism, and nominalism as a way to articulate the intuition that objects exist independently of, and are only contingently identified by, their properties. Related discussions consider the degree to which properties are mere aspects of objects (trope theory) or whether universals provide a separate level of abstraction.

Related concepts include universals, particulars, tropes, and bundle theories of objecthood. The idea of a separate particular is often contrasted with views that deny a strict division between an object and its properties, or that treat properties as inseparable from the objects that instantiate them.