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Full Idea
The signs are that the higher categories are not natural kinds and so the Linnaean hierarchy must be abandoned. ...This is not abandoning a hierarchy altogether, it is not abandoning a tree of life.
Gist of Idea
The higher categories are not natural kinds, so the Linnaean hierarchy should be given up
Source
Michael Devitt (Natural Kinds and Biological Realism [2009], 6)
Book Ref
Devitt,Michael: 'Putting Metaphysics First' [OUP 2010], p.211
A Reaction
Devitt's underlying point is that the higher and more general kinds do not have an essence (a specific nature), which is the qualification to be a natural kind. They explain nothing. Essence is the hallmark of natural kinds. Hmmm.
| 17371 | Some kinds are very explanatory, but others less so, and some not at all [Devitt] |
| 17372 | The higher categories are not natural kinds, so the Linnaean hierarchy should be given up [Devitt] |
| 17373 | Species pluralism says there are several good accounts of what a species is [Devitt] |