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Full Idea
Essentialism is concerned with the nature of a group, whatever the category it falls under.
Gist of Idea
Essentialism concerns the nature of a group, not its category
Source
Michael Devitt (Resurrecting Biological Essentialism [2008], 6)
Book Ref
Devitt,Michael: 'Putting Metaphysics First' [OUP 2010], p.228
A Reaction
This seems to me such a simple and obvious point that I am amazed that anyone rejects it, yet lots of people seem to think that an essence is just some sort of category.
17369 | We name species as small to share properties, but large enough to yield generalisations [Devitt] |
17370 | Things that gradually change, like species, can still have essences [Devitt] |
17367 | Species are phenetic, biological, niche, or phylogenetic-cladistic [Devitt, by PG] |
17368 | Essentialism concerns the nature of a group, not its category [Devitt] |