Natural Kinds and Conceptual Change

Klappentext This book will appeal to students and professional in the philosophy of science! the philosophy of biology and the philosophy of language. Zusammenfassung In this illuminating book! Joseph LaPorte argues that scientists do not discover that sentences about natural kinds! like 'Whales are mammals! not fish'! are true rather than false. Instead! scientists find that these sentences were vague in the language of earlier speakers and they refine the meanings of the relevant natural-kind terms to make the sentences true. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface; Introduction; 1. What is a natural kind and do biological taxa qualify?; 2. Natural kinds, rigidity and essence; 3. Biological kind term reference and the discovery of essence; 4. Chemical kind term reference and the discovery of essence; 5. Linguistic change and incommensurability; 6. Meaning change, theory change and analyticity; Notes; References; Index.

Product details

• Authors: Laporte Joseph, Joseph Laporte
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 29.01.2009
• EAN: 9780521108102
• ISBN: 978-0-521-10810-2
• No. of pages: 232
• Series: Cambridge Studies in Philosoph; Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative linguistics; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works; Philosophy of Language, SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects, Philosophy of Science