Editing Problem of universals (section)

=== Buddhist Nominalism ===
Buddhist ontology regards the world as consisting of momentary particulars and mentally constructed universals.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perrett |first=Roy W. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/an-introduction-to-indian-philosophy/B9CD240194015F1D13BCDE7CA376CB86#contents |title=An Introduction to Indian Philosophy |date=2016-01-25 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85356-9 |edition=1 |pages=136 |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139033589}}</ref> In contrast to the realist schools of Indian philosophy, Buddhist logicians put forward a positive theory of nominalism, known as the [[apoha]] theory, which denies the existence of universals.

The apoha theory identifies particulars through double negation, not requiring for a general shared essence between terms. For instance, the term 'cow' can be understood as referring to every entity of its exclusion class 'non-cow'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perrett |first=Roy W. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/an-introduction-to-indian-philosophy/B9CD240194015F1D13BCDE7CA376CB86#contents |title=An Introduction to Indian Philosophy |date=2016-01-25 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85356-9 |edition=1 |pages=137 |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139033589}}</ref>