The Semantics and Metaphysics of Natural Kinds

by Helen Beebee (Editor), Nigel Sabbarton-Leary (Editor)

Essentialism--roughly, the view that natural kinds have discrete essences, generating truths that are necessary but knowable only a posteriori--is an increasingly popular view in the metaphysics of science. At the same time, philosophers of language have been subjecting Kripke's views about the existence and scope of the necessary a posteriori to rigorous analysis and criticism. Essentialists typically appeal to Kripkean semantics to motivate their radical extension of the realm of the necessary a posteriori; but they rarely attempt to provide any semantic arguments for this extension, or engage with the critical work being done by philosophers of language. This collection brings authors on both sides together in one volume, thus helping the reader to see the connections between views in philosophy of language on the one hand and the metaphysics of science on the other. The result is a book that will have a significant impact on the debate about essentialism, encouraging essentialists to engage with debates about the semantic presuppositions that underpin their position, and, encouraging philosophers of language to engage with the metaphysical presuppositions enshrined in Kripkean semantics.

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Arturo Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

No sé si sea trampita reseñar algo que he tenido que leer para la tesis, pero who cares. Si bien es un libro bastante técnico (obviamente), es una de las mejores compilaciones sobre el tema que he leído. Todos los artículos son top-notch. Lo único de lo que podría quejarme, irónicamente, es que no hay ningún artículo que aborde explícitamente cuál es la relación entre la semántica y la metafísica de las clases naturales; pero bueno, eso es un problema abierto, supongo.