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26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 3. Knowing Kinds

[how and how far we can know natural kinds]

9 ideas
We distinguish species by their nominal essence, not by their real essence [Locke]
You can't base kinds just on resemblance, because chains of resemblance are a muddle [Quine]
There might be uninstantiated natural kinds, such as transuranic elements which have never occurred [Ellis]
Lawlike propensities are enough to individuate natural kinds [Wiggins]
One sample of gold is enough, but one tree doesn't give the height of trees [Gelman]
In the Kripke-Putnam view only nuclear physicists can know natural kinds [Bird]
Darwinism suggests that we should have a native ability to detect natural kinds [Bird]
Explanation by kinds and by clusters of properties just express the stability of reality [Ladyman/Ross]
Natural kinds support inductive inferences, from previous samples to the next one [Koslicki]