Questions tagged [naturalkinds]

Natural kinds are kinds that correspond to a grouping that reflects the structure of the natural world rather than the interests and actions of human beings. But for a kind or grouping to exist, the constituents of that grouping must be similar to…

In philosophy of science thinkers sometimes speak of certain theoretical concepts "carving nature at its joints" (I think this might have been used prominently by Hilary Putnam but I can't remember now). Yet, in general modern philosophy tends to…

Assuming a non-religious stance, we are made of the atoms that make up everything else in the universe. Why are we categorized as humans, and not the stars that existed billions of years ago and exploded, making up what we see now? Why are we…

From my understanding, natural kinds are kinds that in some way don’t depend on the motivation of the person. In this very specific sense, how can anything adhere to this requirement? Even a single atom isn’t the same as another, and in a way, we…