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Single Idea 17371

[from 'Natural Kinds and Biological Realism' by Michael Devitt, in 26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 1. Natural Kinds ]

Full Idea

Explanatory significance, hence naturalness, comes in degrees: positing some kinds may be very explanatory, positing others, only a little bit explanatory, positing others still, not explanatory at all.

Gist of Idea

Some kinds are very explanatory, but others less so, and some not at all

Source

Michael Devitt (Natural Kinds and Biological Realism [2009], 4)

Book Reference

Devitt,Michael: 'Putting Metaphysics First' [OUP 2010], p.202


A Reaction

He mentions 'cousin' as a natural kind that is not very explanatory of anything. It interests us as humans, but not at all in other animals, it seems. ...Nice thought, though, that two squirrels might be cousins...