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SUMMARY:How to carve nature across the joints without abandoning Kripke-Pu
 tnam semantics - Helen Beebee (University of Birmingham)
DTSTART:20110203T163000Z
DTEND:20110203T180000Z
UID:TALK28973@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Nicky Reeves
DESCRIPTION:Kripke-Putnam semantics (KP) for natural kind terms\, accordin
 g to which truths like 'water is H2O' are metaphysically necessary but kno
 wable only a posteriori\, is often taken to have significant metaphysical 
 consequences. In particular\, it is often taken to justify 'natural kind e
 ssentialism'. I argue that the metaphysical consequences of KP are in fact
  extremely weak\; in particular\, KP is consistent both with species plura
 lism (the view that there are several\, equally 'correct' ways of classify
 ing organisms) and with Kuhnian relativism.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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