Authors |
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Abstract |
In this paper I sketch William Whewell’s attempts to impose order on classificatory mineralogy, which
was in Whewell’s day (1794e1866) a confused science of uncertain prospects. Whewell argued that
progress was impeded by the crude reductionist assumption that all macroproperties of crystals could be
straightforwardly explained by reference to the crystals’ chemical constituents. By comparison with
biological classification, Whewell proposed methodological reforms that he claimed would lead to a
natural classification of minerals, which in turn would support advances in causal understanding of the
properties of minerals. Whewell’s comparison to successful biological classification is particularly
striking given that classificatory biologists did not share an understanding of the causal structure underlying
the natural classification of life (the common descent with modification of all organisms).
Whewell’s key proposed methodological reform is consideration of multiple, distinct principles of
classification. The most powerful evidence in support of a natural classificatory claim is the consilience of
claims arrived at through distinct lines of reasoning, rooted in distinct conceptual approaches to the
target objects. Mineralogists must consider not only elemental composition and chemical affinities, but
also symmetry and polarity. Geometrical properties are central to what makes an individual mineral the
type of mineral that it is. In Whewell’s view, function and organization jointly define life, and so are the
keys to understanding what makes an organism the type of organism that it is. I explain the relationship
between Whewell’s teleological account of life and his natural theology. I conclude with brief comments
about the importance of Whewell’s classificatory theory for the further development of his philosophy of
science and in particular his account of consilience.
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Keywords | Whewell Consilience Systematics Classification Mineralogy |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1016/j.shpsc.2017.06.007 |
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References found in this work BETA
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The Creation of the Essentialism Story: An Exercise in Metahistory.Mary P. Winsor - 2006 - History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 28 (2):149 - 174.
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Citations of this work BETA
Natural Classes in Brentano's Psychology.Arnaud Dewalque - 2018 - Brentano‐Studien: Internationales Jahrbuch der Franz Brentano Forschung 16:111-142.
Classification, Kinds, Taxonomic Stability, and Conceptual Change.Jaipreet Mattu & Jacqueline Anne Sullivan - forthcoming - Aggression and Violent Behavior.
The Reception of Positivism in Whewell, Mill and Brentano.Arnaud Dewalque - forthcoming - In Ion Tanasescu, Alexandru Bejinariu, Susan Krantz Gabriel & Constantin Stoenescu (eds.), Brentano and the Positive Philosophy of Comte and Mill. Berlin, Allemagne: De Gruyter.
“I would sooner die than give up”: Huxley and Darwin's deep disagreement.Mary P. Winsor - 2021 - History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 43 (2):1-36.
View all 6 citations / Add more citations
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