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    Carmelics

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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Intrinsic similarity is not necessary for membership of the same species.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Homeostatic property cluster (HPC) kinds require only a causally sustained cluster of properties, not universal possession of any single intrinsic property.
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    • 2.Species membership is grounded in shared developmental pathways and population-level genetic clusters, which constitute intrinsic similarity at the appropriate level of abstraction.
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    • 3.Boyd's HPC theory shows that natural kind membership tolerates variation while still being underwritten by intrinsic causal structure, not merely relational facts.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
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    • 1.Essentialism about species remains defensible if essential properties are understood as population-level statistical norms rather than universal necessary conditions for each member.
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    • 2.Sober's argument in 'The Nature of Selection' establishes that species have real intrinsic population-level properties (e.g., mean fitness) that ground sameness of kind without requiring individual universality.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.There exists a high degree of variation in intraspecific morphology and genetic makeup among members of the same species.
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    • 2.Natural kinds require certain distinctive intrinsic natural properties common to all members (e.g., nuclear charge for chemical elements).
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    • 3.There is no genetic material or sequence of genes that all and only members of Drosophila melanogaster possess, and likewise for all other species.
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