Single Idea 19291

[catalogued under 2. Reason / D. Definition / 6. Definition by Essence]

Full Idea

One might think of a full dress, or canonical, definition as specifying what type of thing it is, and what distinguishes it from everything else within its type.

Gist of Idea

A canonical defintion specifies the type of thing, and what distinguish this specimen

Source

Bob Hale (Necessary Beings [2013], 06.4)

Book Reference

Hale,Bob: 'Necessary Beings' [OUP 2013], p.151


A Reaction

Good! At last someone embraces the Aristotelian ideas that definitions are a) quite extensive and detailed (unlike lexicography), and b) they aim to get right down to the individual. In that sense, an essence is captured by a definition.