Despite its many obvious shortcomings, the human mind is a remarkably productive generator of categories—from the Linnaean system of taxonomy to two drinkers in a bar arguing over India Pale Ales, and indeed the person sitting next to them who complains to the bartender about “hipsters” taking over his favorite bar. This natural proclivity to set out a number of Continue Reading …
Episode 163: Guest Stewart Umphrey on Natural Kinds (Part Two)
Continuing our interview about Natural Kinds and Genesis: The Classification of Material Entities.
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Episode 163: Guest Stewart Umphrey on Natural Kinds (Part One)
On Natural Kinds and Genesis: The Classification of Material Entities (2016). Are general terms like “water” or “dog” just things that we made up to order the world? Aristotle thought that some universals constitute natural kinds, with a nature that explains their behavior. “Kinds” were replaced with “laws,” but Stewart wants us to reconsider, and bring back “natural philosophy” in the process.
Episode 163: Guest Stewart Umphrey on Natural Kinds (Citizen Edition)
On Natural Kinds and Genesis: The Classification of Material Entities (2016). Are general terms like “water” or “dog” just things that we made up to order the world we experience? Aristotle thought that some universals constitute natural kinds, with an internal structure that explains their behavior. “Kinds” were replaced with “laws,” but Stewart wants us to reconsider, and bring back “natural philosophy” in the process.
End song: “Destroy the Box” by Wertico, Cain and Gray from Organic Architecture (2014), as elucidated on Nakedly Examined Music #30.