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Single Idea 6768
[filed under theme 26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 1. Natural Kinds
]
Full Idea
If real essences are decided by microstructure, then what we call the element tin is not a natural kind, but a mixture of 21 different kinds, one for each isotope. There also exist two different allotropes of tin - white tin and grey tin.
Clarification
'Isotopes' vary in their numbers of neutrons; allotropes differ in their structure
Gist of Idea
Tin is not one natural kind, but appears to be 21, depending on isotope
Source
Alexander Bird (Philosophy of Science [1998], Ch.3)
Book Ref
Bird,Alexander: 'Philosophy of Science' [UCL Press 2000], p.107
A Reaction
This example vividly brings out the difficulties of the Kripke-Putnam view. If natural kinds 'overlap', then there would be a very extensive overlap among the 21 isotopes of tin.
The
20 ideas
with the same theme
[general ideas about natural kinds]:
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10952
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Unusual kinds like mule are just a combination of two kinds
[Aristotle]
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19244
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Chemists rely on a single experiment to establish a fact; repetition is pointless
[Peirce]
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7375
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Quine probably regrets natural kinds now being treated as essences
[Quine, by Dennett]
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16935
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If similarity has no degrees, kinds cannot be contained within one another
[Quine]
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16936
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Comparative similarity allows the kind 'colored' to contain the kind 'red'
[Quine]
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6613
|
The natural kinds are objects, processes and properties/relations
[Ellis]
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5472
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Natural kinds are of objects/substances, or events/processes, or intrinsic natures
[Ellis]
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15886
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Science rests on the principle that nature is a hierarchy of natural kinds
[Harré]
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17371
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Some kinds are very explanatory, but others less so, and some not at all
[Devitt]
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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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6776
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Natural kinds are those that we use in induction
[Bird]
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6767
|
Rubies and sapphires are both corundum, with traces of metals varying their colours
[Bird]
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6768
|
Tin is not one natural kind, but appears to be 21, depending on isotope
[Bird]
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6770
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Membership of a purely random collection cannot be used as an explanation
[Bird]
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6771
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Natural kinds may overlap, or be sub-kinds of one another
[Bird]
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17394
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Natural kinds are what are differentiated by nature, and not just by us
[Scerri]
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17421
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If elements are natural kinds, might the groups of the periodic table also be natural kinds?
[Scerri]
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14504
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The Kripke/Putnam approach to natural kind terms seems to give them excessive stability
[Koslicki]
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18613
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Artifacts can be natural kinds, when they are the object of historical enquiry
[Machery]
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