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    Carmelics

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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Post-Lockean scientific essentialism (Kripke, Putnam) holds that natural kind terms rigidly designate real essences discoverable through empirical inquiry.

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

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Essences posited by science (e.g., DNA) are theory-laden constructs, not theory-independent discoveries about nature itself.
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    • 2.Many natural kind boundaries depend on pragmatic human interests rather than objective metaphysical divisions in nature.
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    • 3.Rigid designation can explain reference without requiring that essences exist independently of our conceptual frameworks.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Water turned out to be H2O despite appearing colorless and tasteless, showing empirical inquiry reveals hidden essences.
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    • 2.Natural kind terms like 'gold' and 'tiger' pick out the same entities across possible worlds, indicating rigid designation.
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    • 3.Scientific progress depends on discovering real properties that explain observable phenomena, not mere linguistic conventions.
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