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Ideas for 'Parmenides', 'Mere Possibilities' and 'Contemporary Political Philosophy (2nd edn)'

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9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 7. Essence and Necessity / a. Essence as necessary properties

16467	'Socrates is essentially human' seems to say nothing could be Socrates if it was not human [Stalnaker]
	Full Idea: It seems natural to paraphrase the claim that Socrates is essentially human as the claim that nothing could be Socrates if it was not human.
	From: Robert C. Stalnaker (Mere Possibilities [2012], 4.3)
	A reaction: In ordinary speech it would be emphasising how very human Socrates was (in comparison with Frege, for example). By this token Socrates essentially breathes oxygen, but that is hardly part of his essence.