Talk:Entity

Changes to the article

I'm thinking about implementing changes to this article with the hope of moving it in the direction of GA status. The current article is bare-bones: it is a start-class article with a readable prose size of merely 364 words and is mostly unsourced (there is only a single source, used for a quotation).

The article needs a definition-section to explain how the term is commonly defined by academic sources, often as something that exists and is identifiable. Words like being, object, and thing are frequently used as synonyms but some authors distinguish them, which should be addressed somewhere. Many different types of entities are discussed in the academic discourse, such as abstract vs concrete entities, particular vs universal entities, independent vs dependent entities, physical vs mental entities, observable vs theoretical entities, and non-existent entities. They could be covered in a section called "Types". Another key point is the different principles and theories regarding entities, such as the problem of identity (e.g. the slogan "no entity without identity"), composition, boundaries, change and persistence, ontological commitments, Ockham's razor, and realism vs anti-realism. The concept of entities plays different roles in different areas, such as metaphysics, logic, linguistics/semantics, computer science and information science, law, and business. This could be covered in a separate section. To conclude, a short history section could trace the most important chronological developments of the concept and related theories.

There are more issues to consider, but they can be addressed later since the points mentioned so far will already involve a lot of work to implement. I was hoping to get some feedback on these ideas and possibly other suggestions. Phlsph7 (talk) 16:31, 15 August 2026 (UTC)