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Single Idea 17377
[filed under theme 7. Existence / E. Categories / 1. Categories
]
Full Idea
Classification pervades any descriptive use of language whatever.
Gist of Idea
All descriptive language is classificatory
Source
John Dupré (The Disorder of Things [1993], 1)
Book Ref
Dupré,John: 'The Disorder of Things' [Harvard 1995], p.18
A Reaction
This is because, as Aristotle well knew, language consists almost entirely of universals (apart from the proper names). Language just is classification.
The
17 ideas
from John Dupré
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17374
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The possibility of prediction rests on determinism
[Dupré]
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17375
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Natural kinds are decided entirely by the intentions of our classification
[Dupré]
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17379
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Borders between species are much less clear in vegetables than among animals
[Dupré]
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17377
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All descriptive language is classificatory
[Dupré]
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17380
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Wales may count as fish
[Dupré]
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17378
|
Presumably molecular structure seems important because we never have the Twin Earth experience
[Dupré]
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17382
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Cooks, unlike scientists, distinguish garlic from onions
[Dupré]
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17381
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Phylogenetics involves history, and cladism rests species on splits in lineage
[Dupré]
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17385
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Kinds don't do anything (including evolve) because they are abstract
[Dupré]
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17389
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A species might have its essential genetic mechanism replaced by a new one
[Dupré]
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17388
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It seems that species lack essential properties, so they can't be natural kinds
[Dupré]
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17384
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Even atoms of an element differ, in the energy levels of their electrons
[Dupré]
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17387
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Ecologists favour classifying by niche, even though that can clash with genealogy
[Dupré]
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17383
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Species are the lowest-level classification in biology
[Dupré]
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17386
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The theory of evolution is mainly about species
[Dupré]
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17390
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Natural kinds don't need essentialism to be explanatory
[Dupré]
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17376
|
We should aim for a classification which tells us as much as possible about the object
[Dupré]
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