Another word for properties and possessions

вЂњFrom each according to his abilities,вЂќ we say, and mean the sum of oneвЂ™s properties rather than merely oneвЂ™s possessions. I might have come to count a stamp collection among my possessions by way of inheritance вЂ“ and it would hence be more accurate to say that I вЂњpossess my grandfatherвЂ™s stamp collectionвЂќ instead of calling it вЂњmy property.вЂќ ItвЂ™s easier to give up oneвЂ™s possessions than it is to give up oneвЂ™s properties. In colloquial speech, we might say that the stamp collector вЂњpossessesвЂќ a stamp collection and that the craftsman вЂњpossessesвЂќ his tools, but this is a misleading use of words. Parting with those properties would imply parting with the relevant part of oneвЂ™s identity. A stamp collector owns his stamp collection. The particularities of my being are inextricably linked to my properties: a craftsman owns his tools. Properties are a constitutive part of my individual identity. My personal property вЂ“ or, rather, the sum of personal properties вЂ“ describes me as a person. It is no coincidence that the English word вЂњpropertyвЂќ carries two different meanings: a thing that belongs to someone, and an attribute or quality that characterizes someone or something. When someone says that something is вЂњhis or her own,вЂќ that person articulates a very close and irrevocable relationship to a thing. As a society, we should try to clarify the meaning of words instead of succumbing to their abrasion and disguising in everyday use. Indeed, distinguishing one from another is of great importance.

Instead, I want to try to tease out what I see as a difference between the two terms. All those apply equally to properties and possessions. IвЂ™m not concerning myself here with the legal definition of terms, with the different types of property, or with the restrictions imposed on them by customs and laws.

I can do with it (almost) whatever I want. A thing is вЂњmineвЂќ if it is my property, and also if I possess it. The person who has property or possessions is generally said to be able to determine their use as they see fit, without the ability of others to interfere in that process. For example, the common vernacular doesnвЂ™t really distinguish between вЂњpropertiesвЂќ and вЂњpossessions.вЂќ Casting aside for a moment all those instances in which the two words are used metaphorically, we can say that they both describe the relationship between a person and a thing. Sometimes it might even seem as if we have too many words for the same thing. The richness of human language is astounding.

Another word for properties and possessions