Kinds of Properties vs Types of Predication: The Problem of Differencing Types of Existence in the Philosophical Tradition of A. Meinong and E. Mally

Abstract

This paper is based on a comparative analysis of two concepts of Austrian
philosophy and several concepts within the analytical philosophical tradition. In 1912, Ernst Mally wrote a work that influenced the theory of his teacher, Alexius Meinong, and the new tradition within the framework of analytical metaphysics. First, he clarifies the theory of Meinong by providing a more rea­soned answer to the criticisms expressed, in particular, by Bertrand Russell. Sec­ondly, he also introduced the distinction between encoding and exemplification, which perhaps enabled the object theory to better implement that task, but vio­lates the basic principles of Meinong’s theory. These two distinctions have influ­enced the formation of two traditions. All authors generally believe that they have adequately adapted theories of Meinong and Mally, slightly optimizing their conceptions. The aim of this research is to understand whether their distinc­tions are just a formalization of the original distinctions, or whether their theo­ries are completely independent, inspired by Austrian philosophers.