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Full Idea
There seems to be nothing in the theory of direct reference to block the anti-essentialist assertion that the substance water might have been the very same entity and yet have had a different chemical structure.
Gist of Idea
Nothing in the direct theory of reference blocks anti-essentialism; water structure might have been different
Source
Nathan Salmon (Reference and Essence (1st edn) [1981], 6.23.1)
Book Ref
Salmon,Nathan: 'Reference and Essence (2nd ed)' [Prometheus 2005], p.186
A Reaction
Indeed, water could be continuously changing its inner structure, while retaining the surface appearance that gets baptised as 'water'. We make the reasonable empirical assumption, though, that structure-change implies surface-change.
| 16782 | The names of all the types of creature were given forever by Adam [Anon (Tor)] |
| 11904 | Express natural kinds as a posteriori predicate connections, not as singular terms [Putnam, by Mackie,P] |
| 17507 | Natural kind stereotypes are 'strong' (obvious, like tiger) or 'weak' (obscure, like molybdenum) [Putnam] |
| 2342 | "Water" is a natural kind term, but "H2O" is a description [Putnam] |
| 8873 | The cause of a usage determines meaning, but why is the microstructure of water relevant? [Davidson] |
| 4963 | The properties that fix reference are contingent, the properties involving meaning are necessary [Kripke] |
| 17056 | Terms for natural kinds are very close to proper names [Kripke] |
| 18891 | Nothing in the direct theory of reference blocks anti-essentialism; water structure might have been different [Salmon,N] |
| 15701 | Nouns seem to invoke stable kinds more than predicates do [Gelman] |
| 6764 | Nominal essence of a natural kind is the features that make it fit its name [Bird] |
| 6766 | Jadeite and nephrite are superficially identical, but have different composition [Bird] |
| 6808 | Reference to scientific terms is by explanatory role, not by descriptions [Bird] |
| 13284 | Should vernacular classifications ever be counted as natural kind terms? [Koslicki] |