Combining Philosophers

All the ideas for Rescher,N/Oppenheim,P, John Richardson and John Dupr

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23 ideas

1. Philosophy / E. Nature of Metaphysics / 3. Metaphysical Systems
20349 Metaphysics aims at the essence of things, and a system to show how this explains other truths [Richardson]
20351 Metaphysics needs systems, because analysis just obsesses over details [Richardson]
20350 Metaphysics generalises the data, to get at the ontology [Richardson]
7. Existence / E. Categories / 1. Categories
17377 All descriptive language is classificatory [Dupré]
7. Existence / E. Categories / 2. Categorisation
17376 We should aim for a classification which tells us as much as possible about the object [Dupré]
9. Objects / C. Structure of Objects / 8. Parts of Objects / c. Wholes from parts
12887 A whole must have one characteristic, an internal relation, and a structure [Rescher/Oppenheim]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 8. Essence as Explanatory
17390 Natural kinds don't need essentialism to be explanatory [Dupré]
9. Objects / D. Essence of Objects / 10. Essence as Species
17389 A species might have its essential genetic mechanism replaced by a new one [Dupré]
17388 It seems that species lack essential properties, so they can't be natural kinds [Dupré]
14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 4. Prediction
17374 The possibility of prediction rests on determinism [Dupré]
18. Thought / C. Content / 5. Twin Earth
17378 Presumably molecular structure seems important because we never have the Twin Earth experience [Dupré]
24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / a. Human distinctiveness
20356 Humans dominate because, unlike other animals, they have a synthesis of conflicting drives [Richardson]
26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 1. Natural Kinds
17381 Phylogenetics involves history, and cladism rests species on splits in lineage [Dupré]
17385 Kinds don't do anything (including evolve) because they are abstract [Dupré]
26. Natural Theory / B. Natural Kinds / 7. Critique of Kinds
17375 Natural kinds are decided entirely by the intentions of our classification [Dupré]
17379 Borders between species are much less clear in vegetables than among animals [Dupré]
17384 Even atoms of an element differ, in the energy levels of their electrons [Dupré]
17387 Ecologists favour classifying by niche, even though that can clash with genealogy [Dupré]
17380 Wales may count as fish [Dupré]
17382 Cooks, unlike scientists, distinguish garlic from onions [Dupré]
26. Natural Theory / C. Causation / 7. Eliminating causation
20366 A mind that could see cause and effect as a continuum would deny cause and effect [Richardson]
27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 5. Species
17383 Species are the lowest-level classification in biology [Dupré]
17386 The theory of evolution is mainly about species [Dupré]