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Single Idea 13779

[from 'Cratylus' by Plato, in 27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 5. Species ]

Full Idea

It seems to me that it is right to call a lion's offspring a 'lion' and a horse's offspring a 'horse' (I'm talking about natural offspring, not some monster). ...but by the same argument any offspring of a king should be called a 'king'.

Gist of Idea

The natural offspring of a lion is called a 'lion' (but what about the offspring of a king?)

Source

Plato (Cratylus [c.377 BCE], 393b)

Book Reference

Plato: 'Complete Works', ed/tr. Cooper,John M. [Hackett 1997], p.112


A Reaction

The standard modern difficulty is whether all descendants of dinosaurs are still called 'dinosaur', which they are not.