In ordinary language, “property” and “characteristic” are often almost synonymous. Strictly speaking, these belong to different levels: a property concerns the structure of an object, while a characteristic is a determination obtained through a particular way of considering an object.
Adjacent layer: Synopsis: Description, Perception, and Distinction. Description fixes distinctions in form; a characteristic is obtained through a method of distinguishing.
The Basic Distinction
Property: a relatively stable way in which an object is capable of manifesting itself or entering into distinctions.
It is what is given in the object's structure.
Characteristic: a determination of an object obtained through a particular way of considering it.
Each level answers its own question:
Property: “What is given in the object's structure?”
Characteristic: “What is obtained through this method of consideration?”
Value of a characteristic: “What is the specific determination according to this feature?”
The full chain by which it is obtained:
object → method of distinguishing → characteristic
rather than:
object → infinite storehouse of ready-made properties → subject simply extracts the required one
1. Property
A property concerns what is given in the object’s structure before the subject begins considering it.
For an array:
the array contains elements
the elements have values
the elements have an order
the array has a number of elements
the array permits indexed access
For a surface:
the surface has a structure that makes it glossy
2. Operation of Distinction
Between an object and a characteristic stands an operation of distinction: the subject asks a question and applies a method through which a determination will be obtained.
question: what is the smallest value among the elements?
operation: min
3. Characteristic
The result of the operation is a characteristic:
minimum value of this array = 3
A characteristic is a determination of an object under a particular way of considering it. It is often based on a property: we take mass, color, or length and make it a foundation for description. But it may also be derived, obtained through an operation.
And the crucial point is:
“Minimum value = 3” need not be considered a separate property lying somewhere inside the array prior to our consideration. It is a characteristic of the array obtained by a particular way of distinguishing its elements.
4. Value of a Characteristic
A characteristic receives a specific determination, a value:
Object: engine
Property: power
Characteristic: engine power (basis of description)
Characteristic value: 150 kW
Object: automobile
Property: color
Characteristic: body color
Value: red
The full chain:
car → property of mass → characteristic “mass” → value 1847 kg
Thus, in the record “Mass: 1847 kg,” strictly speaking:
“mass” — property/characteristic
“1847 kg” — characteristic value
Why These Words Are So Easily Confused
A characteristic is usually based on a property: the same word appears at two levels.
color — a property of a surface (given in its structure)
color — a characteristic of an automobile when we describe it in terms of color
The word “characteristic” itself sits on the boundary between the reality of an object and the method of describing it, which is why its meaning shifts.
Why “A Characteristic Is Just a Selected Property” Falls Apart
If every characteristic is taken to correspond to a pre-given property, an explosion follows.
For the array [7, 3, 11, 5], an unlimited number of characteristics may be generated:
length = 4
minimum value = 3
maximum value = 11
sum = 26
mean = 6.5
number of odd elements = 4
number of elements greater than 6 = 2
difference between maximum and minimum = 8
first element greater than last = yes
and then, without limit:
number of elements greater than 7
number of elements greater than 7.1
number of elements greater than 7.01
sum of squares
sum of cubes
ratio of sum of squares to length
whether a pair of elements exists with difference 14
...
But it becomes strange to say that the array corresponds to a pre-given set of “properties”:
property of being a minimum
property of having a sum
property of the number of elements greater than six
property of the difference between maximum and minimum
property of the ratio of the first element to the last
If each way of determining a characteristic is assigned a separate property “inside the object,” properties proliferate to infinity, and ontology expands to meaninglessness.
“Potential Property” Is a Dangerous Category
It can explain absolutely anything. For the array [7, 3, 11, 5]:
“it potentially has the property of having a sum of squares equal to 204”
But why not then say:
“potential property: multiplying each element by 17 will yield a sum of 442”
or:
“potential property: if the number of today's day of the month is added to each element, a certain sequence results”
The boundary disappears entirely: we begin to attribute to an object the result of any operation a subject could ever perform on it. This is a substitution:
The fact that a characteristic can be obtained from an object does not imply that the corresponding property already exists in that object as an independent entity.
Direct and Derived Characteristics
Direct: obtained straight from the accepted structure of the object.
Derived: obtained through an operation on its elements.
For the array [7, 3, 11, 5]:
length = 4 → direct characteristic
minimum = 3 → derived characteristic
mean = 6.5 → derived characteristic
variance → derived characteristic
In a deeper sense, “length” also depends on what we count as an element and an array, but within the already accepted structure of an array it is obtained directly.
Consequence: The Number of Properties Need Not Equal the Number of Characteristics
From the very same structure of an object, a subject can construct hundreds, thousands, an unlimited number of characteristics. But this does not mean that a thousand or infinitely many independent “properties” exist within the object.
Reality is not obliged to contain in advance all the categories through which a subject can distinguish it. There is something given, there is a subject, there is an operation of distinction, and a determination arises.
Example: A Glossy Surface
Suppose a surface is glossy. Different observable effects follow:
it reflects light in a particular way
it produces a highlight
the intensity of the highlight changes with the angle
it can reflect the outlines of surrounding objects
under particular illumination it appears brighter from a particular position
Glossiness is a property of the surface: it is given in the surface’s structure.
But:
at this viewing angle the highlight covers 15% of the surface
is a characteristic arising from the interaction of:
surface + light + observer's position + chosen measurement method
It is unnecessary to introduce into the surface’s ontology a separate “property of having a highlight cover 15% of the area at an angle of 37 degrees.”
Example: The Array [7, 3, 11, 5]
Properties of the Array
the array has elements
the elements have values
the elements have an order
the array has a number of elements
Characteristics of the Array
length = 4
minimum value = 3
maximum value = 11
sum = 26
mean = 6.5
number of odd elements = 4
number of elements greater than 6 = 2
difference between maximum and minimum = 8
first element greater than last = yes
In every record, the first part is the characteristic (the selected method of consideration), and the second is the value of that characteristic.
One Word at Two Levels
For example, length:
“length” as something given in the array's structure → property
“length” as a selected basis for describing this particular array → characteristic
“4” in the record “length = 4” → characteristic value
And the Minimum Value?
The minimum value is not something given in the array’s structure: the array as a structure is not obliged to “have a minimum” inside itself. It simply stores elements by index.
The minimum is obtained through an operation:
characteristic: minimum value
value: 3
operation: find the smallest element
What Happens When the Object Changes
The properties remain the same: the array still has elements, order, and a number of elements. The values of characteristics change:
before: [7, 3, 11, 5] → length = 4, sum = 26
after: [7, 3, 11] → length = 3, sum = 21
The Shortest Formulation
Property: what is given in the object's structure.
Operation of distinction: the method of consideration through which a characteristic is obtained.
Characteristic: the determination of an object under a particular method of consideration.
Characteristic value: the particular magnitude of that determination.
Property is closer to the object, characteristic to the act of consideration, value to the state, and operation to the subject’s action.
And above all: the fact that a characteristic can be obtained from an object does not mean that the corresponding property already exists within the object as an independent entity.
