ENGLISH

Natural Kinds

By Muhammad Ali Khalidi

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2023
ISBN
1009005065, 9781009005067, 100900865X, 9781009008655
DOI
10.1017/9781009008655
ISSN
2517-7265
Google Books ID
wgXazwEACAAJ
Open Library ID
OL48196393M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
3 MB (2638698 bytes)
Series
Elements in the Philosophy of Science
Pages
\82
Orientation
yes
Scanned
no
Time added
2023-08-23 04:00:23

Description

Scientists cannot devise theories, construct models, propose explanations, make predictions, or even carry out observations, without first classifying their subject matter. The goal of scientific taxonomy is to come up with classification schemes that conform to nature's own. Another way of putting this is that science aims to devise categories that correspond to 'natural kinds.' The interest in ascertaining the real kinds of things in nature is as old as philosophy itself, but it takes on a different guise when one adopts a naturalist stance in philosophy, that is when one looks closely at scientific practice and takes it as a guide for identifying natural kinds and investigating their general features. This Element surveys existing philosophical accounts of natural kinds, defends a naturalist alternative, and applies it to case studies in a diverse set of sciences. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

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