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Ideas for 'Mathematical Methods in Philosophy', 'Lectures 1930-32 (student notes)' and 'The Upanishads'

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26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 2. Defining Kinds
By knowing one piece of clay or gold, you know all of clay or gold [Anon (Upan)]
     Full Idea: By knowing one lump of clay, all things made of clay are known; by knowing a nugget of gold, all things made of gold are known.
     From: Anon (Upan) (The Upanishads [c.950 BCE], 'Chandogya')
     A reaction: I can't think of a better basic definition of a natural kind. There is an inductive assumption, of course, which hits trouble when you meet fool's gold, or two different sorts of jade. But the concept of a natural kind is no more than this.