eBook - PDF

Natural Categories and Human Kinds

Name: Natural Categories and Human Kinds
Author: Muhammad Ali Khalidi

Classification in the Natural and Social Sciences

Muhammad Ali Khalidi,

English
PDF
Available on iOS & Android

eBook - PDF

Natural Categories and Human Kinds

Classification in the Natural and Social Sciences

Muhammad Ali Khalidi,

About this book

The notion of 'natural kinds' has been central to contemporary discussions of metaphysics and philosophy of science. Although explicitly articulated by nineteenth-century philosophers like Mill, Whewell and Venn, it has a much older history dating back to Plato and Aristotle. In recent years, essentialism has been the dominant account of natural kinds among philosophers, but the essentialist view has encountered resistance, especially among naturalist metaphysicians and philosophers of science. Informed by detailed examination of classification in the natural and social sciences, this book argues against essentialism and for a naturalist account of natural kinds. By looking at case studies drawn from diverse scientific disciplines, from fluid mechanics to virology and polymer science to psychiatry, the author argues that natural kinds are nodes in causal networks. On the basis of this account, he maintains that there can be natural kinds in the social sciences as well as the natural sciences.

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Yes, you can access Natural Categories and Human Kinds by Muhammad Ali Khalidi in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophie & Philosophie et éthique en sciences. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.