Single Idea 11906

[catalogued under 9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 8. Essence as Explanatory]

Full Idea

Kripke and Putnam chose for their typical essence of kinds, sets of properties that could be thought of as explanatorily basic. ..But the modal implications of their views go well beyond this.

Gist of Idea

The Kripke and Putnam view of kinds makes them explanatorily basic, but has modal implications

Source

Penelope Mackie (How Things Might Have Been [2006], 10.1)

Book Reference

Mackie,Penelope: 'How Things Might Have Been' [OUP 2006], p.172


A Reaction

Cf. Idea 11905. The modal implications are that the explanatory essence is also necessary to the identity of the thing under discussion, such as H2O. So do basic explanations carry across into all possible worlds?

Related Idea

Idea 11905 Locke's kind essences are explanatory, without being necessary to the kind [Mackie,P]