conceptualism the view that there are no universals and that the supposed classificatory function of universals is actually served by particular concepts in the mind. A universal is a property that can be instantiated by more than one individual thing (or particular) at the same time; e.g., the shape of this page, if identical with the shape of the next page, will be one property instantiated by two distinct individual things at the same time. If viewed as located where the pages are, then it would be immanent. If viewed as not having spatiotemporal location itself, but only bearing a connection, usually called instantiation or exemplification, to things that have such location, then the shape of this page would be transcendent and presumably would exist even if exemplified by nothing, as Plato seems to have held. The conceptualist rejects both views by holding that universals are merely concepts. Most generally, a concept may be understood as a principle of classification, something that can guide us in determining whether an entity belongs in a given class or does not. Of course, properties understood as universals satisfy, trivially, this definition and thus may be called concepts, as indeed they were by Frege. But the conceptualistic substantive views of concepts are that concepts are (1) mental representations, often called ideas, serving their classificatory function presumably by resembling the entities to be classified; or (2) brain states that serve the same function but presumably not by resemblance; or (3) general words (adjectives, common nouns, verbs) or uses of such words, an entity’s belonging to a certain class being determined by the applicability to the entity of the appropriate word; or (4) abilities to classify correctly, whether or not with the aid of an item belonging under (1), (2), or (3). The traditional conceptualist holds (1). Defenders of (3) would be more properly called nominalists. In whichever way concepts are understood, and regardless of whether conceptualism is true, they are obviously essential to our understanding and knowledge of anything, even at the most basic level of cognition, namely, recognition. The classic work on the topic is Thinking and Experience (1954) by H. H. Price, who held (4). See also METAPHYSICS , PLATO , PROPERTY. P.Bu.