Natural Kinds: (Thick) Essentialism or Promiscuous Realism?
Philosophical Writings 34 (1):5 - 13 (2007)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
Theoretical identity statements of the form "water is H2O‟ are allegedly necessary truths knowable a posteriori, and assert that nothing could be water and not be H2O. The necessary a posteriori nature of these identity claims has been taken by Kripke, Putnam and Donnellan to justify a move from talk of reference (language) to talk of essence (metaphysics), and has motivated much of contemporary essentialism. In this paper I will contest this move from reference to essence, and argue that (i.) the only way to derive essentialism from semantics (specifically direct reference) is to assume it as a premise, (ii.) that contemporary essentialism is a metaphysical assumption not a thesis, and (iii.) – assuming the accuracy of the analogy between proper names and natural kind terms – present an alternative version of natural kinds classification that is interest-relative, dependent on practical application and reflects the contingent state of affairs which is our world.
|
Keywords | Natural Kinds Essentialism Kripke Putnam |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
No citations found.
Similar books and articles
OK or OK*—Putnam’s Way to Essentialism.Weng-Fang Wang - 2005 - Journal of Philosophical Research 30:237-250.
Thomas Kuhn's Misunderstood Relation to Kripke-Putnam Essentialism.Rupert Read & Wes Sharrock - 2002 - Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 33 (1):151-8.
How Essentialists Misunderstand Locke.Nigel Leary - 2009 - History of Philosophy Quarterly 26 (3):273-292.
Essences and Natural Kinds.Alexander Bird - 2009 - In Robin Le Poidevin (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Metaphysics. Routledge. pp. 497--506.
Putnam's Way to Essentialism.Wen-Fang Wang - 2007 - The Proceedings of the Twenty-First World Congress of Philosophy 6:111-117.
Darwinian Metaphysics: Species and the Question of Essentialism.Samir Okasha - 2002 - Synthese 131 (2):191-213.
Biological Essentialism and the Tidal Change of Natural Kinds.John S. Wilkins - 2013 - Science & Education 22 (2):221-240.
Kinds, Projectibility and Explanation.Sören Häggqvist - 2005 - Croatian Journal of Philosophy 5 (1):71-87.
Putnam's Traditional Neo-Essentialism.Neil E. Williams - 2011 - Philosophical Quarterly 61 (242):151 - 170.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2009-04-30
Total views
2 ( #1,442,365 of 2,499,007 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #421,180 of 2,499,007 )
2009-04-30
Total views
2 ( #1,442,365 of 2,499,007 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #421,180 of 2,499,007 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads