Single Idea 8986

[catalogued under 7. Existence / E. Categories / 2. Categorisation]

Full Idea

We must reject the classical picture of classification by pigeon-holes, and think in other terms: classifying can be, and often is, clustering round paradigms.

Gist of Idea

We should abandon classifying by pigeon-holes, and classify around paradigms

Source

Mark Sainsbury (Concepts without Boundaries [1990], §8)

Book Reference

'Vagueness: a Reader', ed/tr. Keefe,R /Smith,P [MIT 1999], p.264


A Reaction

His conclusion to a discussion of the problem of vagueness, where it is identified with concepts which have no boundaries. Pigeon-holes are a nice exemplar of the Enlightenment desire to get everything right. I prefer Aristotle's categories, Idea 3311.

Related Idea

Idea 3311 The categories (substance, quality, quantity, relation, action, passion, place, time) peter out inconsequentially [Benardete,JA on Aristotle]