Full Idea
If the substance essentialist holds that the sort an object belongs to determines its de re modal properties (rather than the other way round), then he needs to give an (ontological, not conceptual) explanation of what determines an object's sort.
Clarification
'De re' properties are real, and intrinsic to the thing
Gist of Idea
If an object's sort determines its properties, we need to ask what determines its sort
Source
L.A. Paul (In Defense of Essentialism [2006], §1)
Book Reference
'Metaphysics (Philosophical Perspectives 20)', ed/tr. Hawthorne,John [Blackwell 2006], p.340
A Reaction
See Idea 14193 for 'substance essentialism'. I find it quite incredible that anyone could think that a thing's sort could determine its properties, rather than the other way round. Even if sortals are conventional, they are not arbitrary.
Related Ideas
Idea 14193 'Substance theorists' take modal properties as primitive, without structure, just falling under a sortal [Paul,LA]
Idea 14745 If sortal terms fix the kind and the persistence conditions, we need to know what kinds there are [Sider]