{{unreferenced, date=May 2008 In philosophy and

second scholasticism Second scholasticism (or late scholasticism) is the period of revival of scholastic system of philosophy and theology, in the 16th and 17th centuries. The scientific culture of second scholasticism surpassed its medieval source (Scholasticism) in ...

, objective precision (Latin ''praecisio obiectiva'') is the "objective" aspect of

abstraction Abstraction in its main sense is a conceptual process wherein general rules and concepts are derived from the usage and classification of specific examples, literal ("real" or " concrete") signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An a ...

. Objective precision is the process by which certain features (the

differentia In scholastic logic, differentia is one of the predicables. It is that part of a definition which is predicable in a given genus only of the definiendum; or the corresponding " metaphysical part" of the object. Origin Plato implicitly employed ...

e) of the real object of a formal concept are excluded from the comprehension of that concept; the object is thus being intentionally transformed into a universal

objective concept Objective may refer to: * Objective (optics), an element in a camera or microscope * ''The Objective'', a 2008 science fiction horror film * Objective pronoun, a personal pronoun that is used as a grammatical object * Objective Productions, a Brit ...

. Objective precision is thus a process by which universal objective concepts arise. It is the "objective" aspect of the process of (total)

or concept-formation.

Objective precision and formal precision

Objective precision is distinguished against formal precision. Whereas objective precision is a process on the part of objective ''concepts'' (the objective correlates of the mental acts by means of which something is being conceived) formal precision is the corresponding process on the part of formal concepts or the mental ''acts'' themselves. Objective and formal precision are the two aspects (objective and subjective) of abstraction.

Nominalism and realism

The two opposing philosophical views on universals,

nominalism In metaphysics, nominalism is the view that universals and abstract objects do not actually exist other than being merely names or labels. There are at least two main versions of nominalism. One version denies the existence of universalsthings th ...

(or rather

conceptualism In metaphysics, conceptualism is a theory that explains universality of particulars as conceptualized frameworks situated within the thinking mind. Intermediate between nominalism and realism, the conceptualist view approaches the metaphysical c ...

) and

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts * Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...

can be defined by means of their relation to objective precision: anyone who accepts objective precision, is a philosophical realist; anyone who rejects it, is a conceptualist or nominalist (in a broad sense). In other words, the nominalists reject the idea that our universal mental concepts (formal concepts) require universal intentional objects; thus, according to nominalists, in abstraction only formal precision takes place, no objective precision.

Ontological requirements on the part of the object

The schools are divided in their opinion what constitutes the necessary condition on the part of the object in order that objective precision be possible. According to the

Thomists Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions ...

virtual distinction Virtual may refer to: * Virtual (horse), a thoroughbred racehorse * Virtual channel, a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel (or range of frequencies) on which the signal travels * Virtual function, a programmi ...

on the part of the object between the excluded differentia and the arising abstracted objective concept is sufficient to make objective precision possible. According to the

Scotists Scotism is the philosophical school and theological system named after John Duns Scotus, a 13th-century Scottish philosopher-theologian. The word comes from the name of its originator, whose ''Opus Oxoniense'' was one of the most importan ...

, a

formal distinction In scholastic metaphysics, a formal distinction is a distinction intermediate between what is merely conceptual, and what is fully real or mind-independent--a logical distinction. It was made by some realist philosophers of the Scholastic peri ...

is generally required, although certain Scotists (like

Bartolomeo Mastri Bartholomew Mastrius (Bartholomaeus, Bartolomeo Mastri) (Meldola, near Forlì, 7 December 1602 – Meldola, 11 January 1673) was an Italian Conventual Franciscan philosopher and theologian. Life Born at Meldola, near Forlì, in 1602, he was a ...

) regard virtual distinction as sufficient in certain special cases.

Suárez Suárez is a common Spanish surname, widely spread throughout Latin America as a consequence of colonization. In origin it is a patronymic meaning "son of Suero" or "son of Soeiro". It is derived from the Latin name Suerius, meaning "Sugarman". ...

defends objective precision but he rejects any distinctions on the part of the object. The nominalists (conceptualists) agree with the Scotists that a formal distinction would be necessary to enable objective precision, but since they regard such a distinction as impossible, they reject objective precision altogether. Abstraction