Full Idea
The signs are that the higher categories are not natural kinds and so the Linnaean hierarchy must be abandoned. ...This is not abandoning a hierarchy altogether, it is not abandoning a tree of life.
Gist of Idea
The higher categories are not natural kinds, so the Linnaean hierarchy should be given up
Source
Michael Devitt (Natural Kinds and Biological Realism [2009], 6)
Book Reference
Devitt,Michael: 'Putting Metaphysics First' [OUP 2010], p.211
A Reaction
Devitt's underlying point is that the higher and more general kinds do not have an essence (a specific nature), which is the qualification to be a natural kind. They explain nothing. Essence is the hallmark of natural kinds. Hmmm.