Characteristics vs. Properties (BPC)
| Broad Physical Categories (BPC) | Definition |
|---|---|
| 1. Property | An aspect of an entity’s identity. |
| 2. Characteristic | An aspect of an existent’s identity. |
Characteristics are not to be confused with properties. Properties are aspects of entities, while characteristics are aspects of any existent.
For example:
- Hard is a property of an entity.
- Fast is a characteristic of an action.
- Far is a characteristic of a relationship.
All characteristics are aspects of entities or properties of entities, since everything that exists is either an entity or a property of an entity. Characteristics of entities are properties, characteristics of properties (like high in pitch, fast, far) are abstractions which separate out different aspects of those properties. Properties, in this conceptualization, belong to entities, and characteristic is a broader class that belongs to any existent. It's an important distinction:
[...] when the underlying nature of sound is not understood, scientists refer to pitch as a characteristic since they don't know whether it's a property or not. They don't know if the pitch is a characteristic of a particular entity.
It turns out that sound ends up being an action, and pitch ends up being the frequency of that action. So, pitch ends up being a characteristic. Having a clear distinction between characteristic and property allows us to clearly identify when we're talking about a property of an entity and when we're just not sure. When we're not sure, we use the word characteristic.