An Introduction to the Problem of Universals

Here's my take on the problem of universals. The problem is about how to account for the statement that two different objects are of the same type. Just think: the word "same" means "one and the same," doesn't it, and how can two different objects share one and the same thing? No ordinary thing could be one and the same between two different objects. So there must be a transcendental object that is shared by the similar objects. If two objects are of the same type, it is because they share one and the same thing.

This seems like a wild, confused take on something simple. So I try and meet the challenge another way. How can two different objects be in some way the same? Let's take, for example, two shapes. Let's say they are both the same shape. How do I account for the truth of that? I can say that they are the same shape because each one has four ninety-degree angles. But there is that idea of two different things being the same again. How do I account for two angles being the same? I can say that some object (a right angle) fits in each angle. But again, there is that idea of two things being the same. How do I account for the object fitting in each angle in the same way?

So it appears that, although the thought of a universal is a strange idea, it is needed to explain how two objects can be of the same type. How can we explain sameness of type otherwise?