plenitudinous theory

The distinction between plenitudinous and sparse theories of universals emerged as a significant philosophical issue in the 20th century. A plenitudinous theory posits that a universal exists for nearly every predicative expression in a language. This includes common predicates like "...is red" or "...is a dog," as well as more complex ones such as "...is either red or round or a dog".12

In contrast, sparse theories propose universals only for a select few predicates, typically those fundamental to scientific theories, like "...is an electron". Arguments for the existence of universals often lead to the conclusion that there are a vast number of them, supporting the plenitudinous view. This perspective is partly rooted in opposition to idealism, the view that reality is fundamentally mental or mind-dependent. Additionally, the phenomenon of "abstract reference," where words like "hunger" are paired with predicates like "...is hungry," suggests the existence of universals.12