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Single Idea 8153

[filed under theme 26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 2. Defining Kinds ]

Full Idea

By knowing one lump of clay, all things made of clay are known; by knowing a nugget of gold, all things made of gold are known.

Gist of Idea

By knowing one piece of clay or gold, you know all of clay or gold

Source

Anon (Upan) (The Upanishads [c.950 BCE], 'Chandogya')

Book Ref

'The Upanishads', ed/tr. Prabhavananda /Manchester [Mentor 1957], p.68

A Reaction

I can't think of a better basic definition of a natural kind. There is an inductive assumption, of course, which hits trouble when you meet fool's gold, or two different sorts of jade. But the concept of a natural kind is no more than this.

Related Idea

Idea 6939 What is true of one piece of copper is true of another (unlike brass) [Peirce]

The 18 ideas from Anon (Upan)

8156 The gods are not worshipped for their own sake, but for the sake of the Self [Anon (Upan)]
8157 A man with desires is continually reborn, until his desires are stilled [Anon (Upan)]
8159 Damayata - be self-controlled! Datta - be charitable! Dayadhwam - be compassionate! [Anon (Upan)]
8158 Do not seek to know Brahman by arguments, for arguments are idle and vain [Anon (Upan)]
8152 Earth, food, fire, sun are all forms of Brahman [Anon (Upan)]
8155 Without speech we cannot know right/wrong, true/false, good/bad, or pleasant/unpleasant [Anon (Upan)]
8153 By knowing one piece of clay or gold, you know all of clay or gold [Anon (Upan)]
8154 Originally there must have been just Existence, which could not come from non-existence [Anon (Upan)]
8147 We have an apparent and a true self; only the second one exists, and we must seek to know it [Anon (Upan)]
8144 Brahman is the Uncaused Cause [Anon (Upan)]
8142 The wise prefer good to pleasure; the foolish are drawn to pleasure by desire [Anon (Upan)]
8143 Self is the rider, intellect the charioteer, mind the reins, and body the chariot [Anon (Upan)]
8146 The immortal in us is the part that never sleeps, and shapes our dreams [Anon (Upan)]
8145 Those ignorant of Atman return as animals or plants, according to their merits [Anon (Upan)]
8149 Charity and ritual observance distract from the highest good of religion [Anon (Upan)]
8150 The immortal Self and the sad individual self are like two golden birds perched on one tree [Anon (Upan)]
8148 Brahma, supreme god and protector of the universe, arose from the ocean of existence [Anon (Upan)]
8151 Let your teacher be a god to you [Anon (Upan)]