Ideas from 'Resurrecting Biological Essentialism' by Michael Devitt [2008], by Theme Structure

[found in 'Putting Metaphysics First' by Devitt,Michael [OUP 2010,978-0-19-957697-5]].

green numbers give full details    |     back to texts     |     expand these ideas


9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 10. Essence as Species
Essentialism concerns the nature of a group, not its category
Things that gradually change, like species, can still have essences
27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 5. Species
We name species as small to share properties, but large enough to yield generalisations
Species are phenetic, biological, niche, or phylogenetic-cladistic [PG]