Combining Texts
Ideas for
'poems', 'Philosophical Letters' and 'Philosophy of Science'
expand these ideas
|
start again
|
choose
another area for these texts
display all the ideas for this combination of texts
29 ideas
26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 1. Natural Kinds
6776
|
Natural kinds are those that we use in induction [Bird]
|
6767
|
Rubies and sapphires are both corundum, with traces of metals varying their colours [Bird]
|
6768
|
Tin is not one natural kind, but appears to be 21, depending on isotope [Bird]
|
6770
|
Membership of a purely random collection cannot be used as an explanation [Bird]
|
6771
|
Natural kinds may overlap, or be sub-kinds of one another [Bird]
|
26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 2. Defining Kinds
6773
|
If F is a universal appearing in a natural law, then Fs form a natural kind [Bird]
|
26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 3. Knowing Kinds
6769
|
In the Kripke-Putnam view only nuclear physicists can know natural kinds [Bird]
|
6774
|
Darwinism suggests that we should have a native ability to detect natural kinds [Bird]
|
26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 5. Reference to Natural Kinds
6764
|
Nominal essence of a natural kind is the features that make it fit its name [Bird]
|
6766
|
Jadeite and nephrite are superficially identical, but have different composition [Bird]
|
6808
|
Reference to scientific terms is by explanatory role, not by descriptions [Bird]
|
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 9. General Causation / b. Nomological causation
6753
|
Laws are more fundamental in science than causes, and laws will explain causes [Bird]
|
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 1. Laws of Nature
6762
|
Newton's laws cannot be confirmed individually, but only in combinations [Bird]
|
6763
|
Parapsychology is mere speculation, because it offers no mechanisms for its working [Bird]
|
6772
|
Existence requires laws, as inertia or gravity are needed for mass or matter [Bird]
|
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 4. Regularities / a. Regularity theory
6740
|
'All uranium lumps are small' is a law, but 'all gold lumps are small' is not [Bird]
|
6741
|
There can be remarkable uniformities in nature that are purely coincidental [Bird]
|
6742
|
A law might have no instances, if it was about things that only exist momentarily [Bird]
|
6743
|
If laws are just instances, the law should either have gaps, or join the instances arbitrarily [Bird]
|
6744
|
Where is the regularity in a law predicting nuclear decay? [Bird]
|
6747
|
Laws cannot explain instances if they are regularities, as something can't explain itself [Bird]
|
6748
|
Similar appearance of siblings is a regularity, but shared parents is what links them [Bird]
|
6749
|
We can only infer a true regularity if something binds the instances together [Bird]
|
6803
|
If we only infer laws from regularities among observations, we can't infer unobservable entities. [Bird]
|
6801
|
Accidental regularities are not laws, and an apparent regularity may not be actual [Bird]
|
6746
|
There may be many laws, each with only a few instances [Bird]
|
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 4. Regularities / b. Best system theory
6745
|
A regularity is only a law if it is part of a complete system which is simple and strong [Bird]
|
6802
|
With strange enough predicates, anything could be made out to be a regularity [Bird]
|
26. Natural Theory / D. Laws of Nature / 8. Scientific Essentialism / d. Knowing essences
6789
|
If flame colour is characteristic of a metal, that is an empirical claim needing justification [Bird]
|