A brief teaching note on nominalism (information from perplexity.ai)
My question 1: "Highlight 6 main ideas of nominalism in social science."
The reply: "Nominalism in social science and philosophy primarily revolves around the idea that universals and abstract objects do not have an independent or actual existence beyond being mere names or labels. Based on the web search results, here are six main ideas of nominalism:
Rejection of Universals and Abstract Entities: Nominalism denies the existence of universals—general qualities or properties that can be instantiated multiple times (e.g., justice, humanity)—and abstract objects that exist outside space and time, asserting they are only names or labels.
Particulars as Fundamental Reality: Most nominalists hold that only physical particulars—specific, concrete objects in space and time—are truly real, and universals exist only as mental constructs or linguistic labels, not as independent entities.
Nominalism in Mathematics: In math and ontology, nominalism advocates doing away with the assumption that sets or abstract entities like numbers exist in a substantial sense. Instead, collections or classes are seen as sums of particular, concrete entities, and mathematical reasoning can be reconstructed without assuming abstract objects exist.
Language as Merely Naming: Nominalism emphasizes that general words or concepts do not refer to real, separate entities but are simply names or labels that humans use to classify and communicate about particulars.
Ontology and Exclusion of Certain Entities: Nominalism asserts that there are no entities of certain sorts—particularly universals—implying that many generalized or abstract entities do not have real being, only linguistic or conceptual existence.
Implications for Ethics and Morality: In normative domains like ethics, nominalism suggests that moral claims and qualities like justice are constructs rather than inherently real or universal standards, emphasizing social or subjective construction over objective universals.
These ideas collectively highlight nominalism's core stance that only concrete particulars are truly real, while universals and abstract objects are merely convenient names or mental constructs used to describe or organize experience."
My question 2: "Discuss how nominalism could influence research methodology design with regard to the following two research themes:
The reply: "Nominalism's influence on research methodology design emphasizes the uniqueness of individual particulars over general universals or abstract concepts. This impacts how topics are approached, particularly qualitative versus quantitative research choices, and how researchers interpret social phenomena.
Influence on Housing Studies Research ("Qualitative housing deficit in Sham Shui Po"):
Nominalism would guide the methodology to focus on detailed, context-specific accounts of housing conditions as unique cases, rather than attempting to fit findings into broad generalized categories or universals about housing deficits.
The research would prioritize qualitative methods, such as in-depth interviews and case studies, to capture the lived experiences and meanings that residents attach to their housing situation.
It would reject assumptions of universalizable housing problems and instead treat housing deficit constructions as socially and linguistically framed by the residents themselves and the local context in Sham Shui Po.
Nominalism implies the research should avoid imposing external, abstract definitions of "housing deficit," instead deriving meaning from particular, situated experiences.
Influence on MBA Research ("Gen Zs' preference on leadership style in Hong Kong's five-star hotel sector"):
Research design would be oriented toward understanding the individual and contextual variations in leadership preferences, avoiding fixed, abstract typologies of leadership styles.
Qualitative approaches such as interviews, focus groups, or ethnography would be favored to uncover the unique subjective interpretations of what leadership qualities are valued by Gen Z professionals within the Hong Kong five-star hotel industry.
The study would emphasize that "leadership style" is not a universal fixed category but a concept whose meaning depends on specific individuals and contexts, shaped by social interactions and cultural factors.
Data analysis would attend to patterns but also treat differences as meaningful, highlighting individual expressions rather than enforcing universal leadership style classifications.
Summary
In both cases, nominalism encourages research methodologies that:
Avoid assuming universal categories or concepts as inherently real.
Emphasize particularity, context, and subjective meanings.
Use qualitative, interpretive methods to capture the complex, constructed nature of social phenomena.
Treat concepts (like "housing deficit" or "leadership style") as socially constructed labels without fixed universal essence.
This approach aligns well with constructivist, interpretivist paradigms in social science research methodology grounded in nominalism."
A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.
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