Single Idea 16510

[catalogued under 9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 13. Nominal Essence]

Full Idea

Nominal essences are unsatisfactory because they fail either of necessity or of sufficiency for membership of the intended kind, they leave unexplained how sortals can evolve, and there is no room for culture or context in our reference to kinds.

Gist of Idea

Nominal essences don't fix membership, ignore evolution, and aren't contextual

Source

David Wiggins (Sameness and Substance [1980], 3.1)

Book Reference

Wiggins,David: 'Sameness and Substance' [Blackwell 1980], p.77


A Reaction

[a compression of a paragraph] I would have thought that Locke would just say it is tough luck if nominal essences can't do all these things, because that's just the way it is, folks.